Potential
by sunbune
Summary: Leo x Karai. Leo needs to hurry up and come back from his training mission. Connects the new toon with the new movie.
1. Karai the captive

POTENTIAL

Warning: spoilers abound, but are vague. Based on the new-tooniverse in conjunction with the new movie. Occurs sometime after Episode 78 (Exodus part 2) and before Episode 93 (Scion of the Shredder), and the first few chapters are set before Leo goes on his training trip to Central America.

Chapter 1: Karai the captive

Karai didn't look up as Leonardo carefully unlocked the door to her cell.

"I brought your dinner," he stated quietly, ducking into the makeshift prison and locking the door behind himself. He set the plate of food on the floor beside the prisoner.

Karai glanced up at him wryly. "Something besides pizza this time?" she asked, her voice cool.

"Actually, yes," Leonardo said, not meeting her gaze. "Chicken and biscuits. Donatello cooked tonight so everything should be edible."

"Mm." Obediently she picked up the plate and settled it on her lap, her expression unreadable. Leo began to retreat, to leave her to her meal. This was the routine. But instead of reaching for the plastic silverware, Karai looked up at her captor, tipping her head slightly to one side. This action caused her hair to swing over her shoulder with just enough of a silky shimmer to catch Leo's eye. He glanced down, blinked, and averted his gaze just a little too deliberately. Karai hid her smile.

"Stay and talk to me for a while, Leonardo," she said carefully. Leo frowned skeptically, but lowered himself to the ground facing her.

"All right," he said, his voice calm and even. "What will we talk about?"

"I have been here for ten days," she reminded him. "How long do you intend to keep me prisoner?"

Leo bristled slightly, his eyes narrowing. "Until it's safe to let you go," he answered.

"And when will that be?" she challenged, her voice growing whispery. She searched his eyes. "You and your brothers may be content to live out your lives underground, but I am different- I will not cooperate forever."

"I thought you understood, Karai- we'll let you go as soon as we can."

"_We_?" Karai sneered at him. "You mean, _you_. You're the one who saved me and brought me here. _You're_ the one determined to keep me like a pet in a cage—"

"Karai." His voice was soft, but full of warning. "If you're trying to upset me, you really shouldn't waste your time."

Karai looked away. "I know," she said suddenly, letting her head drop forward slightly, imitating an abbreviated bow. "It's just… these tunnels. This… darkness. I do not know how the time passes. I do not even know where I am. It is… frustrating. You turtles-" she paused to force the disgust from her voice. "Do you really plan live your whole lives down in these sewers?"

"Yes," Leo answered plainly. Karai narrowed her eyes.

"I wonder how long you will live, if you are not killed by your enemies," she said, a whispery edge of sarcasm in her tone. "Many species of turtles, you know, have a lifespan of centuries."

"I hadn't thought about it," Leo replied honestly.

Karai smirked. "Do you ever wish that you were human?"

"Of course not." He sounded mildly offended.

"Hmm." Karai's lips curved in a victorious smile. "That is what I expected you to say. You are the only one of your brothers, after all, who fully accepts what you are."

"That's not true," Leo said gruffly.

"It is," Karai insisted. "You alone are fully at peace with your condition. The others-"

"We don't _have_ a 'condition', Karai," Leo interrupted, his voice stern.

"Forgive me. I do not wish to insult you," Karai said soothingly. "I only meant to say that you seem to truly _know_ who you are. You are at peace with your identity. And…" she looked up, searching his eyes, and spoke with sincerity. "…that is something I envy about you, Leonardo."

Leo blinked, caught somewhat off guard. Karai smiled, and raised her hand towards his face. Leo immediately drew back, out of her reach.

"I am surprised at you," Karai said in a low voice. "Your instincts are keen enough to realize that I am not trying to attack you."

"Around you, my instincts have been wrong before," Leo said darkly.

Karai considered that for a moment, and then met his eyes again. "I swear I will not harm you," she said, holding his eyes with the steely grip of her own gaze. "You have earned my respect," She reached towards him again, and this time Leo didn't move. "And," she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You have aroused my curiosity."

Leo kept his eyes fixed resolutely on hers as her palm pressed lightly to his cheek. For a second or two she studied his lack of reaction. Evidently, she found something in his expression that she understood, because she smiled.

"I can hear your worries from here," she said. She patted his cheek twice and removed her hand, letting her fingers trail down to his chin as she did so. "I did not wish to alarm you or put you on the defensive, so I apologize."

Leo felt a wash of relief as her fingers left his face, and was caught completely by surprise when she touched his hand.

Automatically he jerked his hand away, and glared at Karai. "What are you doing?" he asked under his breath.

"I am sorry," she said carefully. "I did not realize—"

"Never mind," Leo said gruffly. "What do you want, Karai?"

She sighed. "I want to know you better," she said. "Give me your hand." She held her own hand out, palm up, and with reluctant resolve Leo placed his hand atop hers. Karai smiled briefly and held his hand with both of hers, familiarizing herself with its shape and weight. Eventually she turned his hand over, and brushed her thumb over the calluses on his palm.

"I know you've trained hard to become as strong as you are," she said at last. "But you fight with more than physical strength. You fight with mental strength—and moral strength, too. You understand that holding back often requires more strength than driving forward. That's what I respect about you."

She pulled his hand up to her face, leaning her cheek into his palm. She closed her eyes. "Sometimes, it is hard to hate you," she whispered, and, still holding his hand against her face, she turned slightly and pressed her lips against the heel of his palm.

Was that… a kiss?

Leo frowned and pulled his hand away from her. "What was that for?" he asked flatly.

"For…potential," she said, a bit breathlessly. "For the potential of a new relationship. For us." She looked at him with a completely serious expression. Leo stood up, still frowning.

"Your food's getting cold," he pointed out, heading for the door.

"Come back tonight, Leonardo," she said, just loud enough to be sure that he heard her. "Please."

Leo hesitated at the door, but thought better of whatever he was about to say and swiftly locked the cell. But he did glance at her one more time before vanishing into the maze of tunnels.

Once she was sure he was gone, Karai looked down grimly at her hands. They were trembling.


	2. Leo makes a decision

Chapter 2: Leo makes a decision (with a little help)

Leonardo spent the rest of the evening in mental turmoil, ignoring his brothers and even losing focus on his daily routine. At last he found himself zoned out in front of the TV, with Michelangelo snoring gently beside him on the couch.

Leo's thoughts kept racing in circles. What was Karai up to? She'd patted his cheek the same way that April and Master Splinter often did. An affectionate, familiar gesture. But from _Karai?_ What was her motive? Was she just trying to unnerve him? She'd apologized for alarming him, and had seemed sincere. Almost _too_ sincere. Why had she taken his hand, and studied it so intently? She'd said that he had _aroused_ her curiosity. And, to be honest, she'd 'aroused' something of his as well.

He was so wrapped up in his confusion that he was an instant too late in recognizing the presence behind him as his brother, and leapt out of the way as Raphael attempted to touch his shoulder.

"Raph!" Leo exclaimed. "Jeez—you scared me."

"No kiddin," Raph said. "You nearly jumped outta your shell. I was just gonna ask if you're ok. You've been acting weird all night."

"Yeah, I guess I have."

"So." Raph rested his elbows on the back of the couch. "What's wrong?"

Leo sighed and sank into the tattered armchair across from the couch. "It's… Karai," Leo admitted. "She's up to something."

"And this surprises you?" Raph asked. "She's a ninja. A ninja who's desperate to escape captivity, by the way. Of course she's up to something."

"You don't get it," Leo snapped. "She actually… touched me today."

Raph stifled a laugh. "Aw. Did it leave a mark? Just backhand her across the cell next time, that'll teach her."

"No, she didn't _attack _me," Leo clarified, exasperated.

"What'd she do, kiss ya?" Raph asked, grinning.

Leo blanched. "Sort of," he answered awkwardly.

Raph stared at him. "Really?" His voice was serious now.

Leo held up his hand. "Here," he stated. "On the wrist."

"What?" Raph asked, something dangerous in his tone.

"Yeah," Leo said. "She… she wanted to hold my hand for some reason and then she brought my palm up to her cheek and kissed me right here."

"_And?_" demanded Raph.

"And that was it. She… she told me to come back tonight."

"Holy…" Raph stood up and turned his back to Leo for a second. Then he spun around again, a weird expression on his face. "Well? Are you gonna go?"

"I haven't decided. I don't know what she… I don't know what to make of it."

"Are you _stupid?_" Raph was fighting to keep his voice down, but gradually losing the battle. "It's _obvious!_ I mean, yeah, it's kind of disturbing, but it's _completely_ obvious- she's gonna try to seduce you so you'll let her escape!"

"I've promised to let her go once things settle down," Leo said sternly. "So I have a hard time believing that she would resort to--"

"Exactly!" Raph interrupted. "You see? You're actually that naïve, which is why her plan is perfect—go on, go get crazy with her—she'll wait a few days to get you all buttered up, and then she'll use you to make her escape and leave you with your heart hangin' out, and possibly some other organs, too."

Mikey groaned and sat up. "Whoa, dude. Graphic," he said sleepily.

"Mikey!" Leo said. "How long have you been awake?"

The youngest turtle yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Thought I heard somebody mention butter," he said. "So like, what's the deal, dudes? Is little miss ninja puttin' the moves on you, Leo?"

"Yeah that pretty much sums it up," Raph took a seat on the couch next to Mikey and sneered at his older brother. "Only our fearless leader here can't imagine _why_ she's doing it."

Mikey shook his head. "Totally obvious, man. Sounds like the ninja princess has found your major weakness."

"What?" Leo scowled, taking offense. "What weakness? What do you mean?"

"Dude, you are _so_ not catching a clue here," Mikey said, and leaned over towards Raph with a big goofy smile on his face, clasping his hands together and fluttering his eyes. "Oh _Leonaaaardo_," Mikey said to Raph, in a humorous imitation of Karai's silky accent. "You are, like, such an _aaaawesome_ ninja, and you've got like, _faaabulous_ discipline, and, like, such a _hot_ body- ow!"

Mikey tumbled off the couch as Raph, predictably, smacked him upside the head.

"You're wrong," Leo said tensely, unconsciously balling his hands into fists. "Karai isn't the sort of ninja who would use _seduction_ to obtain her goals."

"Oh, sure," Raph said, putting his feet up on the coffee table. "Of _course_ she ain't. Because you've never been wrong about her honorableness _before_-"

Leo smoldered at the comment. He might have misjudged Karai's sense of honor before, but there were extenuating circumstances! Fortunately another voice spoke up before he could retaliate.

"Guys? You're all still awake?" It was Donatello, on his way to the kitchen with an empty glass.

"Leo's got a few bugs in his system," Raph announced. "Get over here and see if you can help us reprogram him."

"All right," Donny said neutrally. He filled his glass with water at the sink and returned to the living room, taking the middle seat on the couch. "What's the situation?"

"Forbidden love, dude," Mikey said dramatically, "Behold ye Angst-y-ness! It's like our very own Shakespeare-book thing! Wherefore art thou Leonardo!!"

"Huh?" Donny asked, blinking.

"I'll give ya the cliff-notes," Raph offered. "Picture this: Shredder junior. Flirting it up big time with Splinter junior. End of story."

Donny smiled and took a sip of his water. "Well. I have to say, that explains it."

"She _wasn't_ really flirting," Leo insisted. "And I don't think she plans to use me to escape either. You're reading this all wrong— maybe she actually just wants a better relationship with me, as… as a colleague."

"Right Leo, right," Raph snorted. "A relationship that involves friendly and completely platonic wrist-nibbling."

"_Wrist-nibbling?_" Donny echoed, mildly amused.

"Puh-lay-tonick?!" Mikey said, overflowing with enthusiasm. "Cool word, bro- what's it mean? Is it like, _'Captain, activate the platonic death ray!'_? or maybe like, _'Fear not, Generalissmo, this ship's hull is made of platonic-tanium!'_? oh, oh, or is it more of a _'Deep in the platonic swamplands, the roarosaurus sinks its talons into its helpless prey'_—"

"No, Mikey," Donny explained. "It basically means, 'not romantic'."

"Aw, that sucks," Mikey looked genuinely disappointed.

"Grr," Raph said, glaring at his youngest brother with clenched teeth. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"She wasn't _nibbling_," Leonardo clarified sulkily, having ignored Mikey's excited babble as usual. "It was just… uh… a brush of the lips."

Raph, Donny, and Mikey stared at him for a minute. Then Donny and Raph exchanged glances, and looked back at Leo again.

"So she actually kissed you… on the wrist," Donny said slowly.

"_And_ gave him an invitation to _come back tonight_," Raph added, making it clear from his tone that he was more than happy to be a tattle-tale at the moment.

"Hmm." Donny frowned, taking another sip of his water and then leaning forward to rest his elbows on this knees. He looked up at Leo. "Are you going to go?"

"That's what I'm trying to decide," Leo admitted.

"Dude, you should totally go for it!" Mikey grinned at him. "I can't believe you would turn down a date with the Shredder-ette herself! The Bushido Babe! The Fox of the Foot! The--"

"Her name's Karai," Leo said abruptly. "And this isn't a joke, Michelangelo."

Hearing Leo snap at Mikey instantly darkened Raphael's mood, a fact that was not lost on Donatello, who immediately began racking his brain for some way to salvage the situation. Mikey had failed in his attempt at making peace, which meant that now Donny would probably only have one chance to defuse the impending conflict between his older brothers.

"No Leo, I think it IS a joke," Raph said, raising his voice. "She's playing you for a fool. She's already _proved_ to us that she's willing to take advantage of you however she can—or do you need another stab wound to drive that point home for ya? Donny- talk some sense into him, will you?"

There it was, Donny's opportunity to settle them down before they got carried away. And fortunately, the solution came to him, just as Raphael presented him with that one chance. Donny sighed and looked around at his brothers. Raph was glaring at him with a 'say-what-I-want-to-hear-or-else' sort of look on his face. Mikey was looking at him hopefully, his round, optimistic blue eyes practically pleading with his genius brother to save the day. And Leo was looking his way with one of those infuriating expressions that said 'it's-unfortunate-you're-involved-but-I-do-respect-your-opinion-so-let's-hear-it.'

"Guys," Donny said, relieved that for once he knew exactly what to say. "I agree that Karai would try almost anything to escape, up to and including seduction."

"Heh," Raph said, grinning.

"But," Donny continued, locking eyes with Leonardo. "Knowing that, and also realizing that there _might_ be a possibility of innocent intentions, I think you should take her up on her invitation."

A strange look of resolve and relief spread over Leo's face. He nodded to Donny.

"Ok then…" Leo said. "I will."


	3. Expert advice

Potential

Chapter 3: Expert Advice

For a moment no one spoke. Donny was practically holding his breath, waiting to see if Raph would explode, while Raph looked like he was threatening to do just that. But then a huge grin stretched across Mikey's face.

"Whoa, dude… way to go, Leo!"

Raph shook his head, but Mikey's cheerful reaction seemed to have worked its magic on his temper. Inwardly, Donny sighed in relief. Crisis defused… hopefully.

Raph ran a hand over his head and settled it briefly on the back of his neck, and then leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Look," Raph said to Leo, his voice strangely free of anger. "If you're gonna do this, at least listen to me, ok? I don't want you getting blindsided."

"Oh man, dating advice from Raph?" Mikey asked, still grinning. "This should be priceless!"

"It's not a date," Leo protested.

"See?" Raph said, turning to Donny. "Does he need help or what?"

"Definitely," Donny agreed, nodding.

"Ok." Raph looked back at Leo with a business-like frown. "If she's playing you like I think she is, here's how it'll go. She'll be all relieved to see you, right? Like she was afraid you wouldn't show up."

"And then she'll like, want to sit next to you, and get all cuddly," Mikey added.

"_Cuddly?_" Leo asked in disbelief.

"Hold on, I'm getting there," Raph said. "First of all, she'll just want you to get comfortable. If she's smart she'll get you talking about all of us. She'll just let you talk, but you can bet she'll be listening for anything she can use against us when she escapes. And while you're telling some story and feeling good about it, she'll pretend to be all into it, and that's when she'll get cuddly."

"I don't…" Leo started to say, sounding lost.

"Yeah dude!" Mikey nodded enthusiastically. "Her head, your shoulder!" he leaned over and nuzzled his head against Donny's shoulder to illustrate. "Like this!"

Donny shoved him away with a look of pained tolerance, and looked up at Leo. "When it's her turn to talk, she'll stick to subjects that will increase your trust, subjects that will earn your respect. She'll talk about training, and duty, and leadership and stuff like that," Donny predicted. "And after you've chatted for an hour or two, when you're feeling like it's been wonderful getting to know her, you'll be sure to do the gentlemanly thing and tell her it's late and you'd better go."

"Think she'll ask him to stay?" Mikey asked, snickering.

"No," Raph guessed. "Not on the first date."

"Think she'll give him a goodnight kiss?" Mikey teased.

Raph eyed Leo critically, then nodded. "After they've had a good friendly talk and all… yeah, probably."

"Dude," Mikey leaned forward intently. "You've got nothing to worry about if she just wants to kiss you on the cheek or somethin'. But if she goes to kiss you on the lips, remember to keep your mouth closed! Unless, she's like, really into it."

"_What?_" Leo looked righteously offended. "Just what makes you such an expert on all this, Michelangelo?"

"I've had a few girlfriends, dude. You know that," Mikey said.

"You've had a few _crushes_," Leo said sternly. "You haven't had any actual _girlfriends_."

Leo noticed that all his brothers looked surprised. Donny bit his lip, worried.

"Umm… yes I _have_, man," Mikey said, gently. Leo looked aghast, which seemed to upset Raph.

"And they were _human_?" Leo looked so incredulous that at last Mikey frowned.

"Well aside from the couple of alien princesses and Whats-her-name the Whatchamacallit, yeah, they were pretty much human," Mikey informed him.

"Ugh!" The disgust on Leo's face, directed at Mikey, was the last straw for Raph.

"What?" Raph demanded, getting to his feet menacingly. "You better not be implying that Mikey's done anything wrong—because--"

"I think we've all had girlfriends, Leo," Donny spoke up. "Its… kinda hard to believe you didn't realize."

"Look," Raph glared down at Leo. "Not everyone is as hung up on this" –he made quote marks in the air- " _'different species'_ thing as you pretend to be, you know."

Leo stood up, clenching his teeth, the gleam in his eye showing that he knew Raph was calling him a hypocrite. Raph took half a step forward when Mikey jumped up in front of him.

"Guys, guys!" Mikey looked from Leo to Raph and back, sensing the hostility smoldering between them. "Chill out!"

"Leo," Donny said quickly, before his older brothers had a chance to say something they didn't mean. Reluctantly, Leo turned towards him. Encouraged, Donny went on. "How do you feel about Karai, anyway? That's the important thing."

"Yeah- are you like, attracted to her?" Mikey asked.

" 'Course he is," Raph said, smirking. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this little chat." Leo gave him a reproachful glance, but didn't comment. Raph's smirk faded, replaced by the business-like concern he'd shown earlier. "So. You gonna listen to our advice, or what?"

Leo sat back down. "I'll listen," he said in a low voice.

"Okay." Donny said. "Obviously you aren't really going to know what to do, so my advice is just to let her do everything. She's going to be curious, and--"

"She did say something about being curious," Leo admitted.

"—Right. Well, you're going to be curious too, but don't touch her," Donny instructed. "Let her touch you. If she's already touched your hand then she'll probably be comfortable touching your whole arm, and of course your shoulder--"

"But not your neck," Mikey added, and Donny nodded in agreement. Leo looked puzzled.

"Neck's too sensitive," Raph explained gruffly.

"Totally. Nobody ever goes for the neck on the first date. Unless it's like, vampires." Mikey's eyes lit up. "Dude! How sweet would it be if Karai really was a ninja vampire? That would _so_ rock!"

Donny shook his head and turned his attention back to Leo. "Like I was saying, you should be careful not to initiate anything physical. If she wants your hand somewhere, she'll put it there."

"What do you…" Leo nearly turned red.

"I mean around her shoulders or around her waist or something," Donny clarified.

"Yeah dude, don't just go grabbing her for a hug or anything, she'll freak," Mikey warned. "Oh, and she'll be totally clueless about your shell."

"Huh?" Leo was beyond confused.

"She'll be a little unsure of what you consider to be your personal space," Donny explained.

"Here, I'll show ya." Raph reached over Leo's shoulder and took a firm grip on the rounded edge of his shell, which fit nicely in Raph's palm. "That bother you at all?" Raph asked, shaking Leo by the shell the way he might shake a person by the shoulder.

"No," Leo answered. Raph released him and then brought his hand to Leo's chest, just below the collarbone, digging his fingertips into the slight gap between skin and shell as if attempting to peel the yellowish chest plate right off.

"How 'bout this?"

Leo squirmed and quickly knocked Raph's hand aside. "Uncomfortable, right?" Raph asked. "She's won't realize that. If she's trying to get cozy with you, the edge right there will seem like a perfect place for her to rest her little fingers."

"So either tell her no, or just deal with it," Mikey advised. "But don't go fidgeting all over the place. She'll think you're a spaz."

Leo gave his brothers a half-hearted smile. "Okay," he said, with conviction he really didn't feel. "I think that's enough advice for now. I'm just going to go and talk to her. No big deal."

Raph gazed down worriedly at his older brother. Leo seemed calm, composed, and completely helpless. Raph shook his head, wishing there was some way he could spare his brother from the deception he was walking into. "Well," Raph said, stretching his arms over his head. "I'm turnin' in. G'night Mikey, Donny. And Leo, just be careful, ok? She's still an enemy."

"Yeah, good luck, dude!" Mikey called, hopping up and heading off towards his room. "Name the baby after me, kay? Nyeh heh!"

Left alone in the living room with Donny, Leo sighed and rubbed his forehead distractedly. "…Do you really think she might… have 'innocent' intentions, like you said?" he asked after a long moment.

Donny thought for a while, giving Leo the same worried look that Raph had. "I don't know, Leonardo," he said at last. "Anything's possible, though. And I've thought for a long time that, well, that you might like each other." Donny smiled kindly and stood up, walking the short distance over to Leo and resting a hand on his shoulder. "It just might work out."

And with a final sympathetic smile, Donny headed off to bed, leaving Leo to his thoughts.

...to be continued...


	4. the Proverbial Bridge

Chapter 4: the Proverbial Bridge

At last she heard his step in the tunnel beyond her prison. She had been waiting, waiting for hours in the dark, knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep even if she tried. She knew full well that if Leonardo returned, she would have to be very, very careful: one hesitation, or worse, one misstep perceived as too bold, and she would lose her chance.

His footsteps stopped, and there was a hiss and a flutter of light as he lit a candle.

He turned and looked her way, but her gaze was drawn to the wall behind him where his shadow loomed, hulking and fierce with the twin hilts of his trademark blades looking for all the world like the horns of some monster.

Karai narrowed her eyes. She had nothing to fear from shadows. She smiled, and rose to greet him.

"I was beginning to think you were not interested," she said in a silky half-whisper. "But here you are. Your brothers are asleep?"

"They might be," Leo said warily.

"Come closer. There is no need for you to stand so far away."

"I don't want to play games, Karai," Leo said, absolutely serious. "What do you want with me?"

Karai lowered her chin and glanced up at him, matching his serious tone. "I want to understand you better. I want to _know_ you, Leonardo. What are you afraid of?"

Leo frowned. "Don't do it, Karai. Don't try to use this to escape. Don't try to use _me_. "

"I _want _you to trust me, Leonardo," she said quickly, hoping she didn't sound too desperate.

"An enemy's trust is an honor," Leo began.

"And an advantage. We both know this," Karai said, her voice soft.

"I was going to say it's an honor that has to be earned."

Karai looked him over from head to toe, her expression dark in the dim orange glow of the candle. And then she smiled and looked down, humbly bowing her head. "So let me earn it, then."

Leo nodded once and approached the cell, trying his best to calm his heartbeat as he undid the lock and let himself through the door.

Standing face to face, Leo and Karai looked at each other eye to eye. They were exactly the same height. With a quiet thrill Leo realized that he _liked_ that he didn't have to physically look up at her, and that he didn't have to look down at her either. She took a step towards him and he resisted the urge to step back.

"So," she asked, raising an eyebrow. "How will this work?"

She was standing so close to him, it made his skin tingle. "That's up to you," Leo heard himself mutter. His mouth tightened. "Of course, I won't hesitate to the draw the line…"

"Do not worry," Karai soothed. "I will act according to my own code of honor."

Leo nodded grimly. "I'll do the same," he said, in a way that made it seem like both a concession and a threat.

Her smile was undecipherable, and completely entrancing. "Well," she said, looking away. "I won't do _anything_ standing up."

The innuendo was enough to make Leo's mouth fall open as she turned and sat down with her back to the wall. "Come sit beside me," she whispered. Leo regained his senses and settled down heavily next to her, placing the candle well out of the way.

"You know, I just want to talk to you," Leo said carefully, frowning. "I thought that's—"

"Yes, let's talk," Karai said intently, folding her hands in front of her and looking at Leo with what could almost be described as a friendly expression. She had almost been too bold with that comment about standing up. She would have to be more careful! "I want to know more about you. I know what it is to be a ninja. Tell me what it is to be a _turtle_."

Her tone wavered slightly as she said the word 'turtle', and Leo searched her eyes, trying to determine whether or not he should be offended. But he couldn't say for sure if there had been any hatred or disgust in her voice, and if she'd been repressing a laugh, well, that wasn't obvious either. He recognized that she had focused her full attention on him, and he looked away, swallowing.

"It's not that different from being a human," he told her frankly. "Aside from our outward appearance, of course."

"Can you… forgive me, this will probably sound like a foolish question, but… are you able to pull your head into your shell?"

Leo smiled. "When we were younger we could," he answered. "But I can't anymore. Mikey might still be able to- he's the most flexible. When we were kids, we'd sometimes try our best to pull our arms and legs in, too, in response to some half-forgotten instinct I guess."

"I had a dream once that I beheaded you," Karai said suddenly.

Leo blinked at her, and then he almost blushed. "That's a funny thing to tell someone on a first date," he said, hoping he sounded nonchalant.

Karai lowered her eyes. "So this is a… date?" she asked, looking up at him through her lashes.

"No," Leo said quickly, looking away. "No. Not unless you want it to be."

"Hmm," Karai said, seeming pleased. "Well. Let me tell you about the dream I had about you, and you will see why I mentioned it. In the dream, you were kneeling before me, and I was going to execute you. I closed my eyes for the killing strike, and when I opened them again, your head was nowhere to be found! And then I realized that you had only pulled your head into your shell, and had avoided death."

She took a hesitant breath. "And… I was relieved."

Their eyes met, and Leo felt his face flush. Oddly, he could almost imagine being killed by Karai... and there was something undeniably provocative about the idea.

"Do turtles dream?" she asked, chasing away the silence.

"Mutant ones do, yes," Leo answered. "But, not about anything interesting. At least, not in my case. Sometimes I dream about getting lost in the city, but, I'm pretty good at refusing to wake up until I find my way home."

"hmm," Karai said again. "_I _think that is _very_ interesting. It is evidence of the excellent control you have over your mind, if you can navigate your dreams in that way."

"Maybe," Leo said neutrally, trying not to feel flattered. Suddenly he stiffened, remembering something important. "Karai," he said, turning to face her. "The Shredder is gone. Why don't you--"

"No Leonardo, please." She sounded genuinely upset, so Leo bit back the rest of his question. Karai shook her head. "Please don't ask me about that tonight. Not tonight."

Leo nodded solemnly. Perhaps it _was_ too soon to ask her to abandon her loyalty to her adoptive father. Part of him argued that was ridiculous, that she should never have been loyal to the Shredder in the first place, that she should let go of the past. But another part of him knew it wasn't that easy, and he knew something about loyalty. Especially… he smiled.

"What is it?" Karai asked, concerned.

"Nothing," Leo reassured her. "It's just… I understand a thing or two about loyalty to an adoptive father. That's something else we have in common."

His eyes told her that he was sincere. She grimaced internally- those brown eyes of his, full of confidence, full of restraint… they were also full of kindness.

Wordlessly, she moved closer to him, leaned against his arm, and raised a hand tentatively towards his chest.

"May I?" she asked quietly.

Leo blinked, trying to remember everything his brothers had told him.

"Sure," he consented, and Karai rested her hand against his chest, simultaneously leaning her head against his shoulder.

Leo winced slightly as her fingers did indeed wander to the boundary between his skin and shell, and attempted to curl over the edge. Gently, he reached up and removed her hand, and when she didn't protest, he decided to keep it encased in his own.

"Leonardo," she said after a few quiet moments.

"Yes?"

"I just want to thank you, for giving me this chance," she whispered. "I won't--"

"_Leonardo!_" the voice was so harsh that the name sounded more like a growl.

Leonardo jumped up. "Sensei," he gasped.

Master Splinter appeared silently at the door to the cell, gazing coldly at Karai, who also got to her feet. A sneer spread across her lips.

"Get away from there, Leonardo," Splinter commanded gruffly.

"Sensei, I didn't--"

"Silence." Staring only at Karai, Splinter unlocked the cell and stood aside. Leo got the hint and stepped through the door, with a desperate glance over his shoulder at Karai. Splinter's black eyes never left Karai's face. "You as well," Splinter said to her. "Come here."

Her expression unreadable, Karai stepped out of the prison, and stood waiting beside Leonardo, returning the rat's cold stare.

"It was to be expected, from one like you," Splinter said to her, softly. "Now, go."

Karai blinked in surprise.

"Go!" Splinter repeated, tapping his cane on the ground for emphasis. With a final, startled look at Leo, who didn't meet her eyes, Karai took off down the tunnel at a run, her feet barely making a sound.

Splinter listened to the sound of her flight for another moment, and then turned to his eldest son. "Leonardo… you disappoint me."

"I didn't do anything wrong, Father," Leo protested. "We were only talking-"

Splinter shook his head. "Her father--"

"She's _not _her father!" Leo interrupted. "She… she just wanted to get to know me. She _likes_ me. She wasn't going to escape-"

"Obviously, I do not care if she escapes," Splinter said sternly. "But I _do_ care if she poisons one of my children!"

"Poisons? But…"

"Seduction _is_ poison, Leonardo. It corrupts whatever it touches!"

"You've got it wrong, master Splinter- it wasn't like that. Karai isn't like that!"

Leo's angry shout echoed down the tunnel for a minute. Splinter looked up at him patiently, waiting for him to calm down.

Leo bent his head forward, ashamed for yelling.

Splinter shook his head again. "Your emotions blind you, my son. She would have destroyed you, had you gone down that path."

"You don't know that!" Leo exclaimed. "I just want to give her a chance- it's hard for her because, yes, she's the Shredder's daughter- it's hard for me too! We were only talking-"

"Never again, Leonardo."

"—what?"

"You must never meet with her again. I forbid it."

"You _forbid_…"

"Hm." Splinter gave a sharp nod of his head, and turned to go back to the lair. "Come with me, Leonardo."

"It's not fair," Leo said, not caring if he sounded childish. "I… I think I see something in her, sensei."

"I'm sure you do, but it is not something that you are able to identify. You don't know what you see, and you don't know where your interaction with her was heading."

Leo frowned, clenching his fists. "So that's it?" he asked angrily. "I'm not allowed to know anything? I'm the only one who has to stay in the dark, and never even have a chance?"

"The only one?" Splinter asked, confused.

"The others—Raph and Mikey and even Donny, they've all had—they've all had girlfriends," Even as he said it he knew it sounded pathetic.

Splinter stopped, turned, and reached up to put a hand on Leo's shoulder. Looking into Leo's angry face, the old rat gave a long sigh. "Leonardo," he said gently. "If your brothers jumped off a bridge…" Splinter smiled. "…I would expect _you_ to already be at the bottom of the river," he concluded.

Leo's expression softened slightly. "You must understand," Splinter continued gravely, "I am not trying to prevent your happiness, my son. I am trying to preserve it!"

…to be continued…


	5. the morning Aftermath

Author's Note: I totally blame Karai for Leo's sulking and moodiness in season four of the new cartoon. Poor Leo! In this chapter... well... he's not too happy. Oh, I also wanted to comment on Karai's height. Obviously, in the cartoon she's much taller than the turtles. In the new movie, though, she seemed to be shorter... According to the official website, all the turtles are 5-foot-2, and I just can't see Karai being any taller than that.

* * *

Chapter 5: the Morning Aftermath

By the time Raphael dragged himself out of bed the next morning, Michelangelo had been awake for hours, watching cartoons. Mikey's face lit up as Raph finally appeared in the kitchen.

"Raph!" Mikey exclaimed. "Have you seen Leo?"

"Why would I have seen Leo?" Raph replied, opening the wrong cupboard in his search for his cereal. Inevitably, the first cupboard he opened in the morning was the wrong one. Growling, he slammed the cupboard shut and went for the next one. "Can't you see I just got up?"

"I was just wondering how things went last night. You know, with Karai!"

"Don't know, don't care," Raph growled, his fingers closing on the desired breakfast item at last.

"I just think it's so awesome that they're finally getting together! It was totally inevitable. It was like, their destiny. But can you imagine Mr. Discipline actually going crazy for a girl? After all the years he was like, '_no Mikey, you don't have a chance with her, she'll only be interested in human boys_!' I sort of can't believe it, you know? Even though Karai obviously-- "

Michelangelo continued to chatter as Raph sat down to pour his cereal into a bowl. But all that came out of the box was a stream of fine crumbs, followed by a small trickle of cereal-dust, which formed a neat little mound in the bottom of the bowl. Raph glared at the powdery remnants of his favorite cereal. It was going to be one of those days.

"Ugh, Mikey, Shut up!" Raph hollered at last. "_Someone_ put an empty cereal box back in the cupboard again. How many times do I have to tell you—"

"Don't look at me, dude!" Mikey protested.

"It was me. Sorry." Raph and Mikey both turned to face their eldest brother, who had appeared silently in the room.

Mikey's eyes widened. "Man, Leo, you look awful!" he exclaimed.

"Didn't sleep well," Leo said quietly.

"Wuh-oh! Watch out! Ninja princess kept you up all night, did she?" Mikey snickered.

Leo shook his head, wearily walking to the fridge and taking out the orange juice.

"More like, ninja _master_," he said ruefully. "Sensei and I had a long talk last night." With that, Leo opened the carton and drank directly out of it.

Snarling, Raph grabbed the orange juice out of Leo's hand. "Whatsa matter with you?" he demanded. "Since when do you not use a glass?"

Snarling right back at him, Leo snatched the carton back. "_Don't_ mess with me, Raph," he warned.

"I'm _not _messing with you!" Raph declared. "I just wanna know what gives you the right to slobber all over the orange juice. Some other people might want to drink that, you know!"

"So what?" Leo said, his voice dull. "We're family. We've got the same germs."

"What are you, eight years old now?" Raph asked.

In reply Leo raised the carton to his mouth and resumed drinking.

Raph looked over at Mikey, who was watching the whole scene with a look of sheer, dumbfounded incredulity on his face. Narrowing his eyes at Mikey, Raph pointed at Leo.

"Are you seeing this?" Raph asked his little brother. "Do you know what this is? I'll tell you what it is. Oh yeah, I know _exactly_ what he's up to. Splinter caught him with Karai and gave him a slap on the hand for it. And now he's here to prove what a big, bad boy he is. Yeah Leo, you're a real rebel all right. Drinkin' out of the orange juice carton. What's next, you gonna leave a wet towel on the floor? Or maybe 'forget' to put the cap back on the toothpaste?"

Single-handedly, and without warning, Leo struck out and throat-punched Raph.

With a horrible gagging sound, Raph crashed backwards against the cupboards. Mikey gasped and jumped over the couch, intending to interfere, but froze at the look on Leo's face.

Coughing, Raph staggered to his feet. "It is way too early in the morning for this, Leo," he said, his voice rough.

"Good." Leo put the orange juice back in the fridge, and turned his back on his brother. "You lose."

And with that, Leo left the room. Mikey hurried over to Raph and grabbed him by the arms.

"You okay bro?"

"Yeah," Raph rasped. "He held back. He… he wasn't trying to kill me or nothin'."

Mikey shook his head. "What _was_ that, Raph? Has Leo lost his mind? What should we do?"

"I don't know," Raph said tersely.

"Should we tell Master Splinter?"

Raph shook his head. "Not yet," he decided. "Let's go find Donny, to start with."

They found him at his desk. Donny listened to the whole story without moving a muscle. At last, he sighed, and ran a hand over his head before settling it resolutely on his knee.

"Sounds like he's sulking again," Donny said softly. "You remember how he was a while ago. After… you know, while we were all still recovering."

Raph and Mikey grimaced. They did indeed remember Leo's drastic change of attitude after their final encounter with the Shredder. It hadn't been pretty.

"I thought he was over that," Mikey said.

"Yeah. He's been fine lately. Especially since we captured Karai," Raph grumbled.

Donny blinked. "I think that might be the answer, Raph. Karai nearly killed Leo in the fight. While we were home and she was out there on the loose, he was a wreck. You saw him- talking back to Master Splinter, treating all of us like dirt, being overly aggressive-"

"Yeah, he was an absolute prick!" Mikey recalled.

"—But then he found Karai again, and took her prisoner--" Raph said carefully.

Donny nodded. "Once he felt like he had control of _her_, he was fine again," he concluded.

"So… why's he flipping out _now_?" Mikey asked. "Isn't Karai, like, still locked up?"

Raph's eyes widened. "I knew it," he growled. "That _tramp!_ She really did pull one over on Leo— she must've escaped last night!"

"Just as you predicted," Donny said, sighing. "Which also helps to explain why he lashed out at you this morning. You were right about Karai and he knows it now."

Mikey's brow furrowed. "I dunno, dudes. It feels like we're missing something somehow."

"Let's go talk to Leo," Donny suggested. "I don't think anything good will come of allowing this to sit and smolder."

* * *

They decided it'd be best if Donny knocked on the door. "Leo? We need to talk to you." 

No answer. Donny tried the door- it was unlocked, so they went in. The room was dark.

"What is it?" Leo's sullen voice asked.

"Conference," Donny said, trying to sound confident and caring, just like Leo would sound if the tables were turned. "We're worried about you."

There was silence for a minute. And then: "I'm sorry I struck you, Raph. It was wrong."

"You gotta talk to us, Leo," Raph said, using that tone of voice that meant, 'don't-you-_dare_-apologize-you-KNOW-I-already-forgave-you'.

"Yeah," Leo said bitterly. "Yeah, you guys have all answers."

"What happened with Karai?" Donny asked, keeping his voice soft.

"Heh. Oh, she's long gone," Leo said. "Splinter let her go."

"Master Splinter did?" Donny asked, unable to hide his surprise.

"Dude, I don't get that," Mikey piped up.

"Yeah," Leo huffed. It sounded like he was holding back tears. "Thanks. Big help, Mikey."

Mikey looked up at Raph and Donny, hurt. Donny grimaced, his dark eyes seeming lost and uncertain. Master Splinter's involvement was an unexpected twist. Donny would have to sit back and mull over the possibilities before deciding what to say next. And Mikey was hopeless- if Leo started crying, Mikey probably would too. Raph took a breath. "All right," he said. "Out. Both of you, out."

Mikey looked like he was about to protest, but Donny gave him a look, and nodded to Raph, and took Mikey with him back out the door, making a point of shutting it behind them.

Raph reached for the lamp on Leo's desk, turned it on, and sat down in Leo's chair. Leo was lying on his stomach on his bed, his face turned towards the wall. He looked so pathetic. At that moment, nothing could have made Raphael angrier.

"Just what the HELL is wrong with you?" Raph exploded. "What'd she do to you? You tell me, and I'll take care of her, ok? Just tell me what the hell she did."

Reluctantly, Leo sat up. "She didn't do anything, Raph," he said in a low voice. "But it's like she… she's eating away at me. I can't stop thinking about her. She said--"

"Damn it Leo! Are you kidding me? You're telling me you've lost your mind now because some slanted eyes and a silky voice turned you on?"

"You don't get it," Leo said darkly. "She's the only one I've ever felt this way about. Ever since I first met her, I've had this feeling…"

Raph stood up. "You know what?" he said suddenly. "You're unbelievable. Yeah, yeah, fine, she's your true love or whatever. Cry me a river, ok?"

"It's not that!" Leo blurted out. "It's Master Splinter. He's forbidden me to see her again."

That stopped Raph in his tracks. "…You sure?" he asked after a long moment.

"Like I said. We had a long talk."

Slowly Raph understood. Raph leaned back in the chair, chilled by what it all meant. "You're going to disobey him, aren't you."

It wasn't a question, so Leo didn't answer.

...to be continued...


	6. Hot Tub Hospitality

Author's note: This story is anchored in the new tooniverse, post-Exodus… but it will cross into the new movie-verse soon. Spoiler alert! Personally, I love the fact that the writers/animators/powers-that-be decided to tear off a piece of Leo's shell. It shows that he's not invincible, that he _can_ be hurt and even scarred. Poor Leo!

* * *

Chapter 6: Hot Tub Hospitality

A week passed, and Leonardo's mood did not improve. Around the lair, he was unnervingly quiet, often sitting completely still for long periods of time, almost as if meditating. When he spoke to his brothers, it was only to provide critical, directive advice- but his voice was unnaturally cold and detached. They all began to avoid him, and if he minded, he didn't let on.

And then one afternoon Raph found Leo sitting listlessly on the couch. The TV wasn't even on. He was just sitting there, scowling, looking incredibly determined and incredibly agonized.

"Look," Raph said, walking by on the other side of the room. "If you're tryin' to talk yourself out of it, try harder."

That was all he said. Leo's grip tightened on the couch cushion he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He made up his mind.

* * *

Later that night, Leo went alone to the Foot Headquarters building. 

Karai had just finished her nightly exercises in the dojo and was in the process of putting her training weapons back in their racks on the walls. One of her eyes twitched, and when she spun around, Leonardo was standing there.

Karai gave him a wry smile. "I see you have mastered the way of silence," she said. "But don't be too proud of yourself. I told my ninja to let you in if you came alone."

"I thought it was a little too easy sneaking in here this time," Leo admitted in a quiet voice.

Karai eyed him critically. "And _I _thought that by now your _rat_ would have turned you against me," she hissed in a half-whisper.

"Let's leave my master out of this," Leo said. "I'm here to find out for myself how you really feel about me."

"How _I _feel about _you_?" Karai asked, raising an eyebrow in a smirk. "What about _your_ feelings for _me_?"

Leo felt his shoulders tense. "…My feelings have never been in question," he said at last. "And… they haven't changed, Karai. I've always…" he stopped himself from saying anything further, reluctant to be too honest.

"You should have told me," Karai said softly.

Leo shook his head. "I never could have. I never thought there was a chance that you'd feel the same way."

Karai's expression froze in that unreadable half-smirk, and Leo's heart began to beat a little harder. He'd all but admitted it to her now. Anxiously he searched her face for any sign of sincerity, and glimmer of relief over the fact that he was still interested –_very_ interested—in working on the 'new relationship' she'd mentioned while she was his prisoner.

"But if there _was _a chance…" Karai asked at last, carefully meeting his gaze. She had to be clear on this. "…You would be willing to act on it?"

Leo raised his arms a little and let them fall back to his sides. "I'm standing here, aren't I?"

Karai smiled, and the tension broke. Despite whatever the rat must have told him, Leonardo had come to her, had walked right into what could have easily been a lethal trap. He was offering her his trust, and she would take it. "Yes. And I am glad of that, Leonardo," she said, a hint of warmth in her tone at last.

Leo let his breath out in relief. "So," he said with a shy smile, recalling her words to him on their first 'date'. "…How will this work?"

Karai was still standing next to the racks of training weapons on the wall, and all of a sudden she snatched up a _bokken_, whirled it the air, and caught it neatly over her shoulder, single-handedly. It was such a graceful move that Leo blinked a few times and felt his face heat up a little.

"I could use a sparring partner," Karai said causally, and obligingly Leo reached for his weapons. "But not tonight," Karai added, giving her wooden sword a final swing and twirl before replacing it in its rack. "I have completed my exercises for this evening. If only you had gotten here earlier."

"I kind of had to sneak out," Leo admitted.

Karai's eyes gleamed at that revelation, and she lowered her lashes, a pleased smile on her face. "Of course," she purred. "And in that case, I suppose from now on I will begin my training at a later hour."

"Thanks," Leo said, honored that she'd change her schedule just for him. "I won't be able to come every day… maybe only twice a week."

"Whenever you find the time, I will appreciate the chance to train with you," Karai said silkily. "As you know, most of my subordinates are not much of a challenge for a _nitou-ryu_ expert."

"Heh." Leo grinned, a quiet, happy thrill spreading through him right down to his toes. It was a fact that Karai fought with the exact same _nitou-ryu_ –two sword style—that _he_ did (and was, perhaps, actually a little bit better than him). It would be wonderful to train with her!

"Well. I am going to get cleaned up," Karai said. "But don't leave! I won't be long- I wish to talk more with you- but give me a few minutes. Please, wait for me here in the dojo. Or, better yet, the locker room should be deserted this time of night- why don't you help yourself to a real bath?"

One side of Leo's mouth squiggled into a funny smile. "You saying I smell?" he asked jokingly.

Karai narrowed her eyes. "You _do_ live in the sewers," she said primly.

Leo laughed a bit. "All right, all right… I guess a bath wouldn't hurt. And, thank you for the hospitality." He half-bowed to her with his hands at his sides and a heartfelt smile on his face

Karai smiled back at him. "Don't mention it."

* * *

Ten minutes later, and dripping from a quick shower, Leo found himself marveling at the most beautiful Japanese bath he'd ever seen. The locker room and showers had been nothing more than he'd expected, but behind a heavy wooden door labeled with the unmistakable kanji "_furo_" he found a room tiled with smooth stone with a 12 by 12 bath set into the floor. The water was steaming hot and just deep enough to sit up comfortably with an arm over the edge. 

Leo set his armful of gear down on the bench by the door, propping his swords up against the wall and draping his blue mask over the handle guards.

Sighing quietly, Leo stepped into the tub, and sat down in the water. It was all he could do to keep from groaning out loud, the hot water felt so good. Hot showers were one thing-- an actual soak in hot water, in a real bath—that was something else, something that Leo had hardly ever gotten to experience.

Sure, he could fill up the bathtub down in the lair and sit in it, and still did, occasionally, but now that he was full grown, there just wasn't much room in that tub anymore. It sure would be awesome to have a real _o-furo_ down in the lair.

Leo stretched his legs out and leaned his head back, closing his eyes and imagining all the stress from the past few months being leeched out of his system. All the anger, the guilt, the throb of failure, the misplaced aggression, even the resentment he'd felt towards Master Splinter… the hot water was pulling it all out of him and boiling it away.

But it was quickly replaced by a feelings of shock, panic, and embarrassment as soon as a door on the other side of the room slid open, revealing Karai… wearing only a towel.

"Karai!"

"Oh good!" she said, smiling. "I see you managed to find your way here after all."

"Would you, um, would you like me to leave?"

She laughed. "Of course not! Calm down, Leonardo. I said I wanted to talk to you, remember?"

"In the _bath_?" Leo asked, incredulous.

"Why not?"

"But… don't you think it's inappropriate? You're wearing a towel!"

She laughed again. "You _aren't_," she said simply. Leo frowned. Yes, technically he ran around mostly naked most of the time and was completely naked at the moment. But it was _different_.

"I'm a turtle," he reminded her.

"Oh!" She opened her eyes very wide. "That's right! And since we are such _different species_, I suppose it does not matter if I have a towel either!" She reached for the edge of the towel that was tucked in across her chest, keeping the towel in place.

"No, wait!" Leo protested. "I… just… keep your towel. I… I'm afraid that seeing you naked would…" he sighed, and his cheeks burned. "… would make me think of you differently," he finished awkwardly.

Karai looked surprised, and then suspicious. "How so?" she asked cautiously, sitting down very gracefully on the edge of the tub.

Leo swallowed. "Listen, the only naked women I've seen have been in a couple of dirty magazines. I don't want to associate _you_ with any of _that_, understand? I… I respect you, Karai. I think if I was just able to feast my eyes, I… I might be tempted to think of you as an _object_, you know?"

The sincerity in his voice left her momentarily speechless. She actually had to fight back the tears that for some reason sprang to her eyes. What he said was so naïve, so _prudish_, in a way- but she couldn't find it in her heart to scoff at him.

"Very well," she said silkily, when she finally found her voice. "I _was_ going to tell you to grow up, Leonardo, but I suppose there is plenty of time for that later. I was only teasing you-- I will wear this towel for modesty's sake. But you will _not_ dissuade me from getting into this tub." Smiling, she lowered herself into the water.

"Ahh," she said, closing her eyes. "_Kimochi_… it feels good, does it not?"

"Yes," Leo admitted.

"It isn't too _hot_ for a cold-blooded reptile?"

Leo shook his head. "No, it's perfect."

Karai opened her eyes and looked closely at Leo's face, which seemed a bit younger and more homely without its blue mask. Her eyes traveled appraisingly over his chest and shoulders above the water, and the water was clear and still enough for her to examine everything under the water too. Leo wondered if he should care about being stared at, but reasoned that he had nothing to hide that wasn't already well-hidden, and decided that he didn't mind. There was nothing hostile in her gaze.

"It's very interesting," Karai commented at last. "That you still call yourself a 'turtle'."

So she was back to this subject. That was fine, as far as Leonardo knew, nothing about himself was classified information.

"Well, we were born as turtles. Or hatched, rather," Leo said, leaning back against the wall of the tub. "But of course now there are a lot of differences." He coughed for emphasis. "_That_, for example. Normal turtles can't cough, but we can. Our ribs are attached to our shells, but thanks to this--" he patted the leathery skin at his sides, that held the front and back of his shell together "—our ribs can still move when we breathe. Normal turtles can't do that."

Karai laughed, and Leo found that he was starting to love that sound. "Normal turtles can't walk or talk either," she pointed out, still laughing.

"And they don't have teeth," Leo added. "But we do."

Karai shook her head. "Ninja… turtles!" she said, rolling her eyes. "Of all creatures… _turtles_. It really is too ironic. You and you brothers are quite special."

Leo smiled. "We know," he said, his voice humble. "We're beyond lucky. We've been blessed. With all we've been through, it really is a miracle that we haven't lost…" his expression darkened slightly. "…anything important."

Karai immediately realized he was holding something back. She tipped her head to one side, squinting at Leonardo thoughtfully.

"Turn around," she instructed in a curious voice. "I want to see something."

Leo frowned, but obeyed, and heard Karai moving closer. An instant later, he felt the faint pressure of her hand against his shell. He glanced over his shoulder, and then looked away.

Karai peered intently at the broken part of Leo's shell, the edge behind his left shoulder that had been shorn away and the part of the plate, the scute, that had been torn off revealing the grayish, pitted bone beneath. "Does this wound still hurt?" she asked.

"No," Leo replied, closing his eyes.

"What happened?" she asked carefully.

For a moment Leo didn't answer. "It was fractured in the fight."

Karai nodded. She didn't have to ask _what_ fight… after all, she had been there. "Afterwards," Leo continued, "it started to rot underneath, and the broken peice had to be removed."

Suddenly Karai realized something. "It's not a wound you could care for by yourself."

Leo shrugged. "It's just a little hard to reach."

"Will it heal?"

"Now that it's clean, yes. Eventually."

Satisfied, Karai moved back to the opposite side of the bath, and Leo turned around again to face her. "You know," Karai said softly, "that fight… I didn't want it to be that way."

"So you said." Leo's voice was gruff.

"I'm… sorry. That you were so badly wounded."

"Let's not talk about it."

Karai looked away. "Very well," she said smoothly.

Leo tried to relax, but all the dark memories had been stirred up and refused to dissipate. Of course he realized that his broken shell was synonymous with whatever was broken in his soul… _fractured in the fight_… _it started to rot_… _it's not a wound you could care for by yourself…_ He knew something was wrong with him, his whole family knew. But he didn't know how to fix it. Unlike with his broken shell, it wasn't clear what needed to be scraped away from that deeper wound… was it weakness? Fear?

He glared down at his own faint reflection in the water, saw his own angry eyes flickering back up at him. He looked… lost. Helpless. _Shamed_…

The water which had only recently seemed so cleansing now seemed to be suffocating him. Silently he stood up, the water running off him beautifully as if reluctant to let him go. Karai watched him with that unreadable half-smirk on her lips. She correctly diagnosed the look on his face.

"The ghost of failure haunts you," she said silkily.

Leo turned and stepped out of the tub. "That sounds like something my sensei said." The heat of the water had temporarily sapped his strength, and he sat heavily on the bench by the door, leaning back against the wall.

"I suppose the old rat could be right about something once in a while." From her amused tone, it was clear that she was trying to make a joke. But Leo didn't take it that way.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to his feet. "Maybe he was right about _you_," Leo said angrily. Karai blinked, her smirk vanishing.

"Leonardo, no…"

"Shut up!" Leo grabbed his mask and tied it around his head. "I can't believe I fell for this. I can't believe I fell for _you_."

His words hit her like a blow to the face. Her mouth fell open slightly, and her eyes, for once, seemed vulnerable.

But if Leo noticed that, he ignored it. Furious, he gathered his gear and weapons. "I don't know what I'm doing here," he muttered. Without looking at her, he added: "We're enemies."

And before she could reply, he was gone.

Karai sat for a long time in the water, stunned by what she had just seen. Leonardo had changed from a polite, sincere, pleasant young man into a rude, angry _brat_ in a matter of seconds.

Her eyes were dark, her face expressionless as she sat alone in the bath, thinking carefully over everything that had been said. What had provoked him? What had she done wrong? And, most importantly… would he come back to her?

"You'll come back," she whispered aloud at last. "Yes, Leonardo… I know you'll come back."

Her lips curved into a smile.

…to be continued…

* * *

Author's note: ah, a hot tub scene… you know about 3 out of 4 anime series have a hot tub scene of some kind. Figured it wouldn't be too out-of-place in a Ninja Turtles story. Grin! Anyway, sorry this was so long! The next few chapters are shorter, and are almost done. Thanks so much for all the reviews! 


	7. My Brother's Keeper

Chapter 7: My Brother's Keeper

A couple of weeks passed quietly. Leo made a habit of disappearing whenever he was in a bad mood, but everything was stable between him and his family... until one afternoon when Michelangelo opened his big mouth.

It was only a snickering comment about 'hot Japanese babes', but it earned him a punch to the jaw that knocked him down, despite his insistence that he hadn't been referring to anyone in particular.

Mikey stared up at Leo in shock- he was used to being smacked around and occasionally pounded, but this was different. This time, Mikey just sat on the ground with his hand pressed to his throbbing jaw. He didn't even say 'ow.'

Without a word, Leo left the room.

As soon as he was gone, Donatello hurried in from the opposite direction and knelt beside his little brother.

"You ok?"

Mikey smiled half-heartedly. "So you saw that?"

Donny nodded. "You didn't deserve it." He offered his brother a hand, and pulled him to his feet. "And Leo's just lucky that _Raph_ didn't see it."

"Man," Mikey said, his voice thick with disappointment. "Guess certain subjects are a no-no from now on."

"I'm gonna have to agree with you there. Now, come on, let's get some ice for your face to keep the swelling down." Donny turned towards the kitchen, and gasped. Leo was standing not two feet from him, his hands clenched into fists at his sides and a deadly gleam in his eyes.

"Whoa! Leo!" Mikey leapt backwards. "You really put the 'eek!' in 'sneak', you know?"

Leo ignored him.

"Donatello. You saw me hit Mikey?"

Donny nodded, and before he had time to react, Leo's hand was around his throat. Leo shoved him backwards against the concrete wall, causing his shell to smack against it with the sharp sound of stone striking stone. Donny gagged and grit his teeth, but refused to scrabble at Leo's hand.

"I've heard you call yourself a _pacifist_," Leo was saying in an ice-cold voice. "But if you're not willing to interfere when you see the innocent suffer, you _ought_ to call yourself a _coward_."

"Hey hey _hey_, since when am _I _'the innocent'?" Mikey protested, his voice strained.

Leo ignored him again, but relaxed his grip on Donny's throat just enough to allow his brother to draw a ragged breath.

"Some things are worth fighting for," Leo growled. "_Say it!_"

Both Mikey and Don flinched at the harshness of the command.

Don's cheek twitched. Resolutely, he spoke up. "Leo, I never said I didn't--"

"_Just say it!_" Leo ordered, tightening his hold again.

"Some things … _keh!_... are worth fighting for," Donny recited, narrowing his eyes at Leo. "Now… _khh!_ Get your hand off my neck."

Leo tightened his grip for the briefest instant, and then let go. Donny took a deep, quiet breath, staring hard at his older brother. "Is there something… you'd like to talk about, Leonardo?" he asked at last.

Leo turned away. "No," he said, heading for the exit.

Once they were sure Leo was gone, Mikey and Don sighed in unison.

"All right, now let's get you some ice," Don said softly, heading for the kitchen. Mikey scampered after him, one hand still pressed to his jaw.

"Man, that was just plain scary," Mikey declared, settling into a chair at the kitchen table. Donny took an icepack from the freezer, wrapped it in a dishcloth, and handed it to his brother. "Thanks bro." Mikey held the ice against his rapidly-swelling face. Donny took a seat across from him, resting his elbows on the table and frowning thoughtfully.

"You're right about Leo being 'sneaky'. I thought he was doing better… but for him to snap like that, over such a small thing…"

"You don't think he's _always_ going to be like that now, do you?" Mikey asked, wide-eyed. "I mean, he _will_ really get better someday, right?"

"I hope so, Mikey."

Just then, Raph came strolling into the kitchen. "Any food around here?" he asked, and then stopped short, glaring at Mikey. "What'd you do to your face?"

"Uhh…" Mikey traded glances with Donny, and then grinned sheepishly at Raph. "I kinda bumped into something."

"Yeah? Something like what?"

"Something like Leo's fist," Mikey replied.

Raph froze, then reached across the table and snatched the icepack away from his brother's face, getting a look at the bruise. His expression wavered between anger and concern, and settled on anger. "So he wants to get violent, huh?"

"That's pretty much the impression he left me with," Mikey said lightly. "You know, in the shape of his knuckle-prints on my face here."

"Grr…" Raph spun to face Donny. "He do anything to you?" he asked gruffly.

Donny shook his head no. Raph's eyes narrowed.

"There's a handprint around your neck," he growled, already on his way out the door.

"Be careful…" Donny called after him.

* * *

Raphael wasted no time hunting Leo down and punching him in the face. "That's for Mikey," he growled, as Leo wiped his bloody mouth on the back of his hand. Raph crouched into a fighting stance. "If you want to hit somebody, let's go," he challenged. 

Leo merely sneered at him. "I'll hit you when I feel like it," he said snobbishly.

"No, you'll hit me when you feel like hitting somebody else." Raph's voice grew louder. "_Especially_ Mikey, you hear me?"

"Oh, like you have any right to be protective after all the times you've beaten him up-"

"I have the right to beat up whoever deserves it—which is why I'm about to pummel _you_!"

"I _think_ I made it clear that I'm _not_ in the mood to _play_ with you right now." Leo stepped in closer and spread his arms wide. "Would you really hit someone who wasn't going to hit you back?" His voice was taunting, snide, and full of disdain.

"If I did, I'd be following my _leader's_ shining example," Raph snarled.

At that, Leo's eyes began to feel hot. He blinked, and felt a tear slip down under this mask. Horrified, he realized he really was going to cry. Gritting his teeth, he turned and fled.

"What'sa matter?" Raph hollered after him. "You afraid t' admit you did somethin' wrong? You just gonna run from your problems? Guess you ain't so 'Fearless' after all!"

That was the last thing Leo heard as he vanished into the dark maze of tunnels.

* * *

Leo came back that night and apologized to Don and Mikey. But he didn't say a word to Raph, didn't even look at him in fact. 

"Jeez, Raph, what'd you do to him?" Mikey asked after Leo had gone off to bed early.

"Nothin'," Raph answered. "Just hurt his feelings a little. I might've said a few things. But don't even act like he didn't deserve it."

Donny sighed and pushed his chair away from his living room workbench, pulling his lab goggles off his head. "_That's_ what I wanted you to be careful about," he said sternly to Raph.

"eh?" Raph grunted.

"When I told you to be careful earlier, when you went to find Leo," Don explained. "I wanted you to be careful not to hurt his feelings. He's hurt bad enough as it is."

"Yeah, but _why?_" Raph demanded. "I mean, why won't he just get over it?"

"I don't know," Donny said. "But making him feel guilty isn't going to help. Next time, Raph, you should really watch your mouth."

"Watch my mouth?!" Raph echoed, incredulous. "You don't even know-"

"Words can wound, Raph," Donny said simply.

"Yeah, well, next time I guess I'll let my fists do the talking," Raph grumbled. "But I gotta say, if this has anything to do with _Karai_ like I think it does, then there are one or two things I'm _not _willing to beat out of him, if you know what I mean. One of _you_ two can have the honor of explainin' to him that at some point, he's just gonna have to take care of himself."

"Umm, eww?" Mikey commented.

* * *

A few more days passed uneventfully, and when Leo wasn't in the dojo or asleep, he simply wasn't around. They all noticed his absence, but no one mentioned it aloud. 

Raph began to wonder if he owed Leo some kind of apology. Leo hadn't so much as glanced at him since the incident. Raph considered talking to Master Splinter about it, maybe just telling him the whole story and relying on the old rat's wise advice about what to do now. But, stubbornly, he held off, determined to delay the moment when his master confronted him about his older brother's problems.

But, inevitably, that moment came.

"Raphael." Instantly he froze– Master Splinter was standing in the doorway of his room.

"Yeah sensei? What is it?" Raph asked, even though he knew exactly what it was.

"Ah." The wizened ninja master hobbled into the room. "I was wondering… where is Leonardo?"

Raph couldn't help it. His lip curled. "How should I know? What am I, his keeper?"

Master Splinter's eyes lit up, and he smiled.

"eh, never mind, I've heard that story," Raph said resignedly. "And I know what you're gonna say. But I really don't know where he is. I don't know what he's been up to lately."

Splinter turned around, and glanced back at Raph over his shoulder. "Find out," he suggested. And then he was gone. Raph sat for a moment, stunned.

And then his eyes narrowed dangerously. Of course, he had only one guess as to where Leo kept sneaking off to: _Karai_. And slowly, he got an idea…

That night, Raph waited until everything was quiet in the lair. His pressed his ear to Leo's door, and heard his older brother mumbling incoherently in his sleep. Then he crept to the dojo. It wasn't hard to find what he was looking for—all of Leo's gear was neatly organized.

Without hesitation, Raph strapped Leo's swords to his back. He had to loosen the belts by an inch or two, but that was all. He was bigger than his big brother, by just that little bit.

Finally, he pulled off his red mask, and replaced it with a blue one. He turned to look at himself in the mirror on the wall of the training hall, and briefly saw Leo standing there, glaring back at him. The effect faded and Raph grinned. If it was good enough to almost fool himself, he ought to have no trouble fooling a few Foot ninja.

Raph's expression became deadly serious as he headed out into the city. If Master Splinter thought he should 'find out', that's exactly what he'd do. And he'd start by _finding out_ if his suspicions were correct.

…to be continued…

* * *

Author's note: Ok ok, I know someone out there must have thought of Raph dressing up as Leo before. But hopefully how it all turns out in the next chapter will still be something of a surprise. Thanks again for the reviews, guys- you're the awesomest! 


	8. Raph Finds Out

Chapter 8: Raph Finds Out

Raph hated to admit it, but he was lost.

Lost somewhere inside the Foot Headquarters building, heading down a narrow corridor with plush red carpet, lit by ominous-looking metal wall sconces in the shape of the Foot clan's tri-clawed emblem. He knew he was fairly high up—he'd snuck in from the basement where the floors were concrete, had crept stealthily higher and higher until the floors were lined with dojo-quality polished wood, and had kept traveling up and up through air vents, elevator shafts, and abandoned stairwells until he'd reached floors that were actually carpeted.

He was going to keep prowling the Foot Headquarters until he either found Karai or was captured and taken to her. He figured her reaction to "Leo's" presence would tell him all he needed to know.

Raphael reached the end of the hall. It was a T-shaped intersection, and now he had the choice of going right or left. He heard a noise to the left, and, with a faint grin, he turned towards it.

Sure enough, a lone Foot soldier was just coming through a door. _Finally_, Raph thought. He'd been sneaking around the building for an hour already and was getting bored of it.

The human ninja froze at the unexpected sight of the ninja turtle in the hallway, and Raph began to wish that he had some weapons near his hands- the blades on his back weren't much of a comfort.

But then, the Foot ninja came to attention, and _bowed_ to him.

Raph's surprise was quickly overcome by a desire to kick the enemy soldier in the head, but Raph caught himself before the grin in his mind formed itself on his face. That wasn't how Leo would react in this situation.

Leo would probably bow back.

Stiffly, Raph bowed towards the Foot ninja. Now came the tricky part: asking about Karai. What were the odds that this particular kid had faced the turtles frequently enough in battle to tell them apart by their voices?

Raphael decided to chance it. "Where's Karai?"

The Foot ninja hesitated. "In her suite," he replied at last.

Oh, great. Was Leo supposed to know where her "suite" was?

"The elevator at the end of the hall," the Foot ninja continued without any prompting. "Four floors up."

Raph smiled, and bowed to the Foot ninja again. It was a little easier that time. The Foot ninja bowed again too. "Thanks," Raph said, heading towards the elevator.

The control panel inside the elevator looked more complicated than the cockpit of a frickin' space shuttle. "Don would love this," Raph muttered, clumsily hitting buttons. At last the doors closed, but not because of anything Raph had done. The elevator began moving. Up.

Presumably, the blinking column of lights alongside the door indicated the floors you were passing. Raph counted them mentally. _Two… three… four_. The elevator stopped. The doors opened—

--and Raph found himself face to face with Karai.

Her eyes widened, and suddenly she was charging towards him, into the elevator, pushing him backwards. The elevator doors slid shut. _"Leonardo!"_ she was saying, and Raph felt ice water run through his veins as he heard the swift rasp of swords being drawn incredibly close to the back of his neck. _"This time, you won't escape!"_

Raph realized in a horrible instant that they were Leo's swords that had been drawn—Karai had already disarmed him! This was it, he was dead! Before he could think another thought, those swords would scissor through his neck. How could he have been so stupid? He'd seen Karai steal Leo's blades before—he knew how quickly, how expertly she could manage it. Stupid, stupid! Poor choice, Raphael. Except… he wasn't dead yet. To his surprise, the killing strike didn't come.

Instead, Karai turned her back to him, and drove both blades deep into the control panel of the elevator. The panel sparked, the lights went out, and then red emergency lights came on, dimly illuminating the interior of the elevator.

"Now there is no one watching," Karai whispered, leaving both of Leo's swords protruding from the control panel. "And, for a while at least, you are trapped here with me." She smiled, a sly, unnatural-looking grin.

_Oh, perfect_, Raph thought. He felt his mouth fall open, although he really wasn't sure of what to say, or if he should speak at all. Karai solved his dilemma by raising a finger to his lips.

"Do not say a word," she whispered, stepping in closer. Raph couldn't repress the slight smirk that tugged at the corners of his mouth. "I am glad that you finally came to me," she said, rather breathlessly. She searched his eyes, and Raph hoped he only imagined the glimmer of doubt that he saw in her face.

Karai did in fact feel that something wasn't right, but dismissed it as girlish nervousness. She shook away her hesitation. She had resolved to confront Leonardo at the first opportunity. She had resolved to take action, before Leonardo was able to change his mind. There was something unreadable in his eyes, something out of place in his expression. But she wasn't going to worry about that now.

Without another word, she leaned in to kiss him, recklessly pressing her lips against his with all the force of an attack.

Raph's initial reaction was exactly what Leo's probably would have been: he pulled back, startled—but his shell was already pressed against the wall, so he had nowhere to go, and Karai pursued him with her kiss. She actually clamped her hands down on either side of his head, holding him in place. _Well well well_, Raph chuckled to himself. _Guess this answers THAT question_. Karai pulled back sharply, something accusatory in her eyes. _Uh oh. Has she figured it out?_

"Leonardo," Karai whispered. "Hold me."

_Guess not_, Raph smirked. Playing along, he wrapped his arms around Karai, and began to get the feeling that he was doing something very, very wrong. _I might as well be hugging the Shredder himself_, Raph thought in disgust, barely even noticing as Karai resumed kissing him. A second later though, she captured his full attention as she decided to try using her teeth to force his lips to comply with her own. Her aggression, so obviously intended to gain control over him, was enough to bring out Raph's competitive side. And wake up his mean streak.

Easily overpowering her, Raph allowed himself to take control of the kiss while reaching up with one hand to hold the back of her head. And now, to clue her in. Grinning, Raph tightened his grip on the back of her head, suddenly grabbing a fistful of her hair and wrenching her head backwards. Karai gasped in pain, her eyes widening in horror as she saw Raph's grin and the gleam in his eyes. Raphael was about to speak when he felt her body go slack against him. She clenched her eyes shut.

"Do as you want," she whispered. "I am yours."

_What the…_ She had been so forceful while kissing him that her unexpected submission caught Raph off guard, and then filled him with anger as he realized what she expected. This charade was definitely over. "No you ain't," Raph snarled, releasing her and tearing the blue mask from his eyes. At the thick sound of his voice, Karai's face went white.

"_Raphael_," she hissed, recognizing him at last. Her voice quivered with hatred. "How… _dare_… you!"

The inevitable fight began. Karai kicked and struck out with her hands, but her attacks were unfocused and flailing. Raph endured a volley of blows and then simply took her out. One kick sent her crashing into the wall. She slid to the floor and stayed down. "Imagine that!" Raph gloated. "A couple of kisses takes the fight right outta ya."

Karai schooled her voice and expression into steel. "What are you _doing_ here?" she hissed, ignoring his taunt.

"Easy. I'm figuring out what my brother Leo's been up to lately. I had a hunch that you might know something about it."

"Well, you're wrong," Karai declared. "I haven't seen him in weeks. He came here only once, and did not come back!" Immediately it was clear that she hadn't meant to say so much, or be so honest. Raph's mouth squiggled into a frown as he noticed tears in her eyes. Something dawned on him.

"Even though he was obviously invited," he muttered. Karai knew she didn't have to answer. She drew her knees up to her chest, hiding her face in her hands. Raph began to feel the smallest twinge of sympathy for her as he realized that her whole body was trembling. For a few moments neither of them spoke.

Raph let his gaze wander around the elevator, and his eyes settled on Leo's swords sticking out of the dead control panel. He had to move towards Karai in order to reach them, and when he did so, she jerked away from him as if a poisonous snake had just struck at her. Raph paused, staring down at Karai with a mixture of pity and mistrust on his face.

"Now you better knock that off," he growled. "We both know I'm not gonna do anything to you."

"I wish that you would!" Karai spat angrily, not raising her head. "You do not know the shame that I feel!" her voice was half a whisper, half a scream. Raph's lip curled in disgust.

"Yeah, you're right about that," he said gruffly. "That little lip-lock earlier didn't mean anything to me, understand? In fact, I'm just gonna forget it ever happened, and so should you."

"It's not that easy," Karai protested. "My actions, my words… I cannot take them back! You have…" she choked, overcome with emotion. "You have destroyed me!"

"Who, me? Gimme a break," Raph scoffed. "I know you're a girl but please, spare me the drama." Karai simply huddled on the floor, still hiding her face in her hands. Raph began to feel impatient. "Come on. You're a ninja. A warrior. Stand up and act like it."

In response, Karai's shoulders shuddered. With a restless, uncomfortable feeling, Raph realized that he had made her cry. "Aw, crap. Karai. Look, don't do this here. Come on. It was bad enough being trapped in an elevator with you while you were molesting me. Being stuck in here while you're having a meltdown isn't…." he stopped short, realizing that he wasn't helping anything. He sighed and distractedly rubbed his shoulder, where the broad leather strap that he wasn't used to wearing seemed to be chafing his skin.

Feeling uneasy and just a bit guilty, Raph walked over and dislodged the swords from the control panel. "I think my brother might want these back," he said aloud, sheathing them over his shoulders with less-than-practiced grace. To his relief, Karai seemed to be getting her emotions under control.

"Leonardo was right for not coming to me," she said darkly. "The... the truth is that I hate him. I hate your brother Leonardo with every ounce of my being . I… I hate him and I want to kill him!"

Raph stared at her for a moment in disbelief. Then he threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, please, Karai. Are you actually trying to save face? Don't make yourself more pathetic than you already are! If you'd wanted to kill Leo I'd be dead right now. What'd you do instead? You tired to suck my tongue into your mouth like some kind of--"

"_Just tell him that I hate him!_" Karai screamed. Raph was silent as she regained her composure, shedding her haughty pretenses as she did so. She seemed like a completely different person when she spoke next. "That's the way it should be, the way it _must _be," she said softly. "We are ninja. We must not betray our clans. We must not betray our families. I am sure that Leonardo knows this." She looked up at Raph, conviction masking a deeper emptiness in her eyes. It was clear that she'd just lost more than some of her dignity. She'd given up all hope, and now all she wanted was acknowledgment from Raph—acknowledgment that she was right.

Unbelievably, Raph found himself torn. Of course she was right—she was the enemy, she was loyal to the Shredder. She simply _could not_ be in love with Leonardo. But this wasn't ancient frickin' Japan, damn it. Raph met her gaze. Her stoic, honor-and-duty bound expression made him roll his eyes. _Jeez. Where've I seen THAT face before?_ He asked himself sarcastically.

Just then, there was a heavy clanking noise, and the elevator began to move. "The automatic emergency escape circuit has been activated," Karai explained. "It is time for you to leave."

Neither of them spoke as the elevator carried them down to the basement. When the door finally opened, Raph stepped through it, and turned around to face Karai. She stood in the doorway, her stance as proud and confident as always. Her eyes were cold. "Remember," she instructed. "Tell him I hate him. Tell him I never want to see him again."

The elevator doors slammed shut between them before Raph could say a word. Scowling, Raph headed for home. He had a decision to make, and he knew it wouldn't be an easy one…

to be continued…

* * *

A/N: well, what do you think? I've been gone away from my computer for a while but at last I'm home and eager to finish this story! Let me know if it's starting to suck or if anyone's OOC… please? Thanks!! 


	9. Heart to heart

Chapter 9: Heart-to-heart

"Master Splinter?"

Splinter opened his eyes, focusing his piercing gaze on his most rebellious child. "Yes, my son? What is it?"

Raphael grimaced, and quickly stepped into Splinter's room, sliding the door shut behind himself. "You know how you're always tellin' me not to deal with my problems alone? Well, I've got a problem here." Without waiting to be told, he knelt before his father.

Splinter nodded, feeling a great hopefulness rise in his heart. This could be the moment he had longed for, the moment when this particular son would finally confide in him. "Please, Raphael. Tell me what is troubling you."

Hesitantly at first, but then with more and more feeling, Raph told Splinter all that he had learned from his encounter with Karai. Splinter listened quietly, carefully, all the while projecting an aura of reassurance rather than condemnation.

"…So that's what happened," Raph said in conclusion. "It's just…I just don't know how to tell Leo," he confessed, bowing his head.

For a moment Splinter didn't say anything. Then, with a heartfelt sigh, the old rat reached out and rested his hand on Raphael's head. "It was wise of you to tell me this before confronting your brother. But in this matter, I cannot tell you what to do." His tone was grave.

"_What?_" Raph looked up, instantly worried, and Splinter dropped his hand onto Raph's shoulder, smiling to assure him that he had done the right thing.

"I do not know everything, my son." There was a certain wistful pain in his voice. "I have tried once already to intervene in this situation, and I wonder now if it was a mistake."

"A mistake? But sensei!" Raph protested, but Splinter held up his hand to silence him. Raph snapped his mouth shut instantly, but frustration flickered in his eyes.

"I have always known that someday the four of you would have to make discoveries and decisions outside the range of my experience. _Three_ of you, apparently, have had no trouble beginning that process in the realm of romance."

Splinter looked pointedly at his son, who grimaced slightly but didn't deny anything.

Splinter settled back onto his _zabuton_, his tail curling neatly around him. "I am worried about Leonardo," he continued. "I do not trust Karai. I still believe she is a threat to our family, and that a relationship with her would be dangerous for your brother. My heart tells me that he should know the truth about what you have told me. But my heart also tells me that _you_ understand this situation better than I. You must look to _your_ heart now to decide what to do."

* * *

Later that day, Raph still hadn't made up his mind. Deciding at last to seek further council, he headed towards the familiar sounds of video game combat coming from the living room. 

"Yo, is Leo around?" Raph rested his elbows over the back of the couch, where Donny and Mikey were playing some gritty Halo-esque first-person shooter game against each other.

"_Pfft!_ Is Leo _ever_ around?" Mikey asked, not looking away from the screen.

"I haven't seen him," Donny added distractedly.

Raph frowned, and then took a deep breath. "Can I talk to you guys? I need some help."

For a second neither of them reacted. And then suddenly they registered what their brother had just said.

"_WHAT!?_" Mikey shrieked, tossing his controller into the air. Donatello, meanwhile, had dropped his controller on the floor and spun around to stare up at Raph in disbelief. "Raph wants to _talk?_ Raph wants _help?_" Mikey was blathering. "Is it the apocalypse or something? Has his _shell_ frozen over?"

"It's about Leo," Raph said gruffly, ignoring Mikey's theatrics. "And Karai."

And so, for the second time that day, Raph told the whole story.

"So what's the problem, dude?" Mikey asked at the end of the tale. "Just tell Leo that Karai really does have the hots for him and wish him good luck!"

"Weren't you listening?" Donny rebuked him. "Because of what Raph did, Karai's given up on Leo. She doesn't want him to know how she truly feels."

"Well in that case, why tell him at all?" Mikey suggested defensively. "What he doesn't know can't hurt him, right?"

"Until he shows up at the Foot Headquarters thinking he's still invited, and Karai attacks him," Donny reasoned.

"So what's Raph supposed to do? Just say, 'hey dude, I snuck over your girlfriend's house last night and Oh by the way, don't ever go over there again, she hates you now'?"

Donny looked up at Raph with a very, very worried look on his face. "Raph, what Mikey just suggested is definitely _not _what you should tell him."

Raph raised his hands in the air, palms up, exasperated. "I kinda don't see any way around it, Don. That's how it is."

Donny sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Raph. It sounds like Karai has chosen duty over love. I think Leo might be able to respect that. For all we know, he may have already made that same choice."

"Yeah," Raph said, brightening a bit. "Yeah, I hope so."

"Um, dudes?" Michelangelo asked, his brow furrowed in concern. "Do you realize what you're saying? Choosing _duty_ over _love_? Isn't that, like, pretty much the lamest most depressing concept _ever_? What about 'love conquers all' or 'all you need is love' --don't either of you guys think our dear brother deserves a _chance_ with the ninja chick of his dreams?"

Raph and Donny exchanged guilty looks. "Of course Leo deserves a chance," Raph said. "But Karai might not. That's basically how master Splinter feels about this too."

"I know it's sad, Mikey, but sometimes even when two people have feelings for each other, it just doesn't work out," Donatello added in a soft voice.

"So…" Mikey said uneasily, trying to shake the disheartening suspicion that his brother had just been speaking from experience, "Think we should stick around while you talk to him, Raph? Like for moral support or something?"

"No, you guys should stay out of the way," Raph told them in a voice that meant, 'nobody's-going-to-pay-for-this-but-me'. "Leo's been avoidin' me lately. I think it's time for a little heart-to-heart."

Donny eyed Raph grimly, as if holding back a warning of some kind, and Michelangelo decided the atmosphere was altogether too somber. "Wuh-oh! Doncha mean a little sword-to-sai?" he asked teasingly.

But Raph didn't grin as Mikey had hoped.

"That's up to him."

* * *

Raph only had to search for about half an hour before he found his brother practicing alone in the ruins of their old lair, the one that had been destroyed by the mousers. Leo was far too responsible to sneak off to sulk somewhere where he couldn't be found if he was needed. 

Silently, Raph rested his arm against a cracked support column and leaned against it, disinterestedly watching as Leonardo threatened and teased a flickering candle with his blades.

"Hey," Raph said at last, once he felt that Leo had made enough of a point of ignoring his presence.

"Yes?" Leo answered curtly, not even looking up from his exercise.

"Leo, I've got something to tell you about Karai," Raph said right up front. "You want to sit down for a minute?"

"What, did she die?" Leo asked, his voice cold.

Raph was taken aback. "Leo…" he said cautiously, unsure of how to proceed.

"No, Raph, I don't want to hear it. Karai isn't an issue anymore."

"Oh yeah? So just what _are_ the issues then? Specifically, what's your 'issue' with me? I kinda noticed that you haven't spoken to me all week. What's that all about, huh? You're like a middle school girl with a grudge. Real cute behavior, bro."

Leo stopped, and looked hard at his brother. Then, turning away, he sheathed his weapons. "All right, Raph. You want an apology? Fine; I apologize."

Raph shook his head. "That's not it, Leo. What I _want_ is for you to come back and just be yourself again. That's what we _all_ want."

Something dark flooded Leonardo's expression. "Sorry," he said gruffly. "I… I know I haven't been there for you guys lately. Master Splinter has every right to be disappointed, too. I just… I don't know. I just need some time."

"And you expect me to believe this isn't about _Karai_."

"I'm not seeing her," Leo said tersely.

"Yeah, well, I wish you'd told me that yesterday," Raph said with honest regret. Leo gave him a strange look.

"Why?"

"Because then maybe I wouldn't've snuck out last night to ask her in person what she's been doin' to ya."

"You did _what_?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you about," Raph said, hoping that his voice sounded calmer than he felt. "Splinter asked—" Raph stopped himself. It wasn't right to blame any of this on Splinter. It had been Raphael's own stupid idea that had gotten him into this mess. He sighed and started over. "—Look. I had to find out what's been going on with you and Karai."

"Nothing's been going _on_, Raph," Leo said, a little louder than necessary.

"I know," Raph said quickly. "If somethin' _had_ been goin' on, she probably wouldn't've fell for the trick I played on her."

"What _trick_."

"Let's just say she thought I was you."

"She fell for that?"

"I borrowed your mask and stuff. She cornered me in an elevator and she saw who she wanted to see, Leo. And, I'll spare you the details, but she _really_ wanted to see you."

"What do you mean?" Leo forced his voice down, but his heartbeat was getting a little harder to control. Why was Raph telling him all this? What had happened? His imagination began to run away with him. Dammit, for weeks he'd been trying his best not to think about her! Why was Raph pushing her back into his mind?

Raph sensed that Leo was getting worked up, even though he wasn't showing any obvious signs of it yet. "I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but I do," Raph said carefully. "Karai's serious about you. She really needs you, Leo. She… she's kinda in love with you."

"Shut up," Leo said. "You don't know that."

"No, _you_ shut up," Raph snapped. "Don't you hear what I'm saying? Sure, maybe there's some other reason for her wanting to get it on with you in an elevator. Maybe she's just a sick freak like that. Maybe she's desperate and can't—"

Leo drew his blades. "Just _stop_," he hissed, his voice deadly and panicked at the same time.

Raph closed his eyes. _Damn it, here goes_, he thought. "I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt," Raph said firmly. "You should too."

Leo narrowed his eyes. "_I_ won't be giving her anything," he said with snobbish certainty. His mouth curved into a very uncharacteristic sneer. "But feel free to borrow my mask, and then _you _can give her whatever you want."

Raph's hands went automatically to his weapons. "It's not like that, Leo," he said warningly. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course I don't," Leo said, sarcastic. "Just a few weeks ago, you were convinced that she was out to _use_ me, remember? And now suddenly you're defending her? I wonder what it took for her to change your mind."

"You think I'm like that, Leo? You think _she's_ like that?" Raph couldn't keep the anger from his voice any longer. Leo was being so stuck-up and self-righteous and stubborn and he just wouldn't listen—"When she found out I wasn't you, she was so ashamed that she wanted me to tell you that she _hates_ you. It's like she… like she's willing to throw away something she wants, throw it away forever, just because she made one mistake that wasn't even her fault!"

"Mistakes have to be punished, _Raph_."

That holier-than-thou tone of voice turned the heat up the final degree. "Yeah, ok, Leo, that's cool. You want to think you're high and mighty? You think Karai's too dirty for you and you don't wanna give her a chance? Whatever. That's fine by me. She's probably too much for you to handle anyway. She likes to use her teeth."

In a furious split second, two flashing swords were effectively trapped by two immovable sai. "_Hah_," Raphael sneered, pressing the swords aside and leaning in as close as he dared. "Called your bluff."

…to be continued…


	10. Leo goes too far

Author's Note: eep! I'm Sorry! I know I promised to post this days ago, but real life got in the way. Thanks for your patience, and sorry again!

* * *

Chapter 10: Leo goes too far

"_Hah_," Raphael sneered, pressing the swords aside and leaning in as close as he dared. "Called your bluff."

Leo kicked him in the chest. Raph turned the backward momentum into a backflip and landed in a crouch, ready for the next attack. Leo was already sprinting towards him, blades whirling—Raph blocked reflexively, and felt the force of the double strike travel like electricity up his arms. Leo wasn't giving him a chance to think.

_Gotta be faster!_ Raph realized desperately. But there was nothing he could do. He was defending himself by instinct alone, barely able to keep up. _I'm gonna lose_.

He always lost, in a real fight. If the day ever came when he won, he really didn't know what he'd do with himself. In practice, sure, they took turns winning. It wasn't exactly deliberate, but that was just what happened, in practice. And when an everyday argument turned into a scuffle, Raphael won his fair share of those too.

But when it came to an actual fight, with _weapons_, the outcome was inevitable. Raph would be on his back, disarmed, a sword at his neck. Or worse, he'd be backed up to a wall, disarmed, and then released with a smug nod. Raph wasn't scared of Leo hurting him. He knew that as soon as he was defenseless, he'd be spared. _That_ was what he dreaded, what he hated most of all: the final blow turned aside, the mercy shown at the last second. The ridiculous _control_ that always stopped that blade in the last inch. On purpose.

Raph knew he couldn't win. But more than anything he wanted to deny his brother that perfect victory. _Dammit Leo, one of these days, you've gotta slip up and go too far,_ Raph thought desperately. And then a wild idea came to him. _I could make him do it_,_ I could make him mess up!_

Those swords were a blur, striking furiously from all directions. Suddenly both came from the same direction, and Raph caught both of them with one sai, giving him a split-second opportunity to use his other sai offensively. Raphael jabbed the sai's heavy knuckle directly between the two cross-shaped intersections of the seams of his brother's plastron, correlating to a direct hit to the solar plexus.

Leo crumpled around the blow, and Raph ducked into him, managing to get his shoulder solidly planted against his brother's stomach—and in one quick motion, Raph turned and threw Leo over his shoulder and across the room. But instead of crashing into the wall, Leo bent his knees and pushed off the wall at the moment of impact, jumping back into the fight with both swords already arcing towards their target--

Raph heard the steel screaming on either side of his head as those two flawless blades slipped into the simple traps designed to stop them. Even as Leo was crashing head-first into him, knocking him off his feet, Raph was turning his wrists, trying to keep those swords where he wanted them. Even as his shell bounced off the ground, Leo rolling with him chest-to-chest in a messy backwards somersault, the situation became clear: if Raph landed on his back, Leo'd have his swords instantly free. If _Leo_ landed on his back, however, there was no way he'd be able to get his blades free of Raph's sai. For half a second, Raph thought he might have a chance--

--and then the back of his head cracked against the concrete floor hard enough to make him see stars. Leo's knee was already driving into his chest, pinning him down. And then the pressure against his sai vanished. He'd lost all his leverage. Leo had simply lifted his swords clear.

Leo stood, and stomped his foot down beside Raph's head. He was gasping for breath, trying to get back the wind that had been knocked out of him by that one precise hit. Immediately Raph tried to jump up, but winced in unexpected pain as his mask tightened like a wire under his eyes, effectively canceling any plans he had for getting to his feet.

Raph's skull smacked the floor once again. So that was what the 'stomp' had been for: Leo was holding down a couple of red bandanna tails with his foot. Raph's vision blurred, whether from outrage or something else, he wasn't really sure.

Leo neatly stepped out of the way of a blow that would have broken his shin had it connected. Raph was on his feet in a flash, finally projecting the anger that Leo had been almost desperate to ignite. Now the fight would go as planned. Now Leo would outthink and outmaneuver his hotheaded brother. Raph would waste energy on anger and start to make mistakes. And then Leo would teach him a lesson.

Raph threw a sai. Instinctively, Leo slashed at it, spinning to one side and knocking the sai out of the air. But Leo's blade continued on its path, even as Leo realized that something was severely out of place: namely, Raphael.

Instead of simply throwing the sai and stepping back, Raph had made his throw while charging forward. They were already close together, and Leo had turned in a full circle, his blade leading him around. By the time Leo had redirected the sai, Raph was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But of course with _Raph_, whenever he was 'in the wrong place at the wrong time', he was usually there on purpose. He actually _grinned_ as he felt his shell absorb the impact of the slice.

For a split second, they both froze. And then Leo grunted in distress and dropped his weapons. One of his swords clattered to the ground. The other stayed where it was, with its edge stuck in Raph's shell like an axe blade embedded in a tree.

A human with a sword lodged in his back like that would be dead. _Dead._

Raph looked over his shoulder at his horrified brother. He glanced down at the abandoned sword hilt, then back up at Leo. "You gonna leave that there?" he asked.

With hands that suddenly felt numb, Leo tugged his sword free. The numerous crisscrossing slash marks scarring Raph's shell had all been carved by blades. But never one of _Leo's_ blades. Not until now.

"Why did you do that?" Leo asked darkly, retrieving his other weapon and taking great care to control his breathing.

"I wanted to end the fight. Guess it worked," Raph replied.

"It was dangerous, Raph. It was dangerous and it was stupid."

"Stupid?" Raph sounded partially offended and partially amused. "What do you think this shell is _for_, anyway? It's a _shield_, Leo. And shields have been tools of combat since the beginnin' of time, bro. Read a history book or somethin'."

Leo narrowed his eyes. "You may think your shell's a shield, but I could have _cut through it!_" his voice trembled.

Raph shook his head. "Not like _that_ you couldn't. Why do you think I threw a sai? Your swing spent most of its energy on the sai way before it got to me."

Leo calmed down significantly as he realized that Raph was right.

Raph smirked at him. "Not so 'stupid' after all, huh?"

Leo turned away. "You still shouldn't have done it," he said with an adamant scowl. "Why'd you even start a fight in the first place, if you were only going to end it by letting yourself get hurt?"

Raph rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? I provoked you to attack in order to prove that you still care about Karai. And as for getting hurt, I'm not _exactly_ gushing blood here."

"That's not the point." Leo looked down remorsefully at the swords in his hands. He held them up and angled the blades so he could see his reflection in the steel. "You made me make a serious mistake, Raph. That cut- that'll be a scar. I haven't even _nicked _any of you in years, not with these."

"It's not that big a deal," Raph said, suddenly wary of something in Leo's voice.

"I'm losing it," Leo said quietly, looking away. "I'm really losing it. I… I thought you were angry, I _wanted_ you to be angry. And I got confident… and I really messed up."

"_Leooo_…" Raph said warningly. "It was my fault, okay? You know that, right?"

"No Raph, it was me. I didn't see it coming. I wasn't paying attention. I let… rage… or… overconfidence or something-- it just blinded me. I let that happen. It was me."

"Hey, uh, you know, it might not even scar up that bad," Raph said, scrambling to be optimistic and _really_ not liking the direction Leo was heading.

Leo ignored him. "I've failed again," he whispered. "I… I have to get out of here."

* * *

Later that night, after hearing what had happened, Splinter agreed with him. 

"_What?_" Leo looked up sharply, not believing what he'd just heard. Splinter's eyes were closed. "Sensei, do you really mean that?"

"Hm." Splinter nodded. "You must leave us for a time. Consider it a training period."

"I can't leave, Master Splinter," Leo argued, distress creeping into his voice. "Everything I care about is here. Everything I _am_ is here!"

Splinter opened his eyes. "Everything you _are_, Leonardo? And what is the sum of that 'everything', I wonder? You are _lost_, my son."

"I'm not 'lost' sensei, I'm right _here_!" Leo nearly jumped to his feet as his distress flared into anger.

The old rat's whiskers twitched as he smiled. "Ah. It must be terribly frustrating to be lost in a familiar place. It is _much better_ to be lost in an unfamiliar place. It is much easier to find new paths to inner peace when you are in a place where all paths are new. That is why you must go."

Leo was unsure of what to think.

"This is not a punishment," Splinter said, his voice soft but his tone indisputably firm. He held Leo's gaze. "This will be good for you, Leonardo. I believe you made the right choice by not returning to the Shredder's daughter. However, if you stay here, you will only continue to be pressured, to doubt and question, and you may come to resent making the choice that you did. And your frustration and confusion, and whatever other darkness burdens you, will continue to threaten our family."

_Threaten?_ Leo's chest tightened. So that was it, that was the bigger issue, the horrible, hidden truth- he was threatening the family, and was being kicked out, just like that. Splinter sensed his shame, and was quick to correct it.

"There is nothing for you to be ashamed of, my son. You are growing up, and it is time for you to find out a few things about yourself. You must learn to survive, grow stronger, make a difference—on your own. For a while, you must stop being responsible for everyone else, and you must focus on yourself."

Splinter watched carefully as his son's innate obedience finally came to the surface. Leo would accept the mission that his master had given him. The corners of Leo's mouth curved downwards in determination, and Splinter nearly sighed in relief as he saw the courage that flickered to life in his son's eyes. Leonardo would need that courage for the journey ahead. "Yes Father," Leo said in a low voice. "But how long is 'a while'?"

The old ninja master smiled again. "As long as it needs to be," he replied.

"Please sensei. I'm going to do this. Can't you at least give me an estimate of how long you expect it to take?"

Splinter evaluated his son's expression, and realized that Leo needed an answer, needed something to plan around, to look forward to- a limit, most likely to be exceeded, but established here at the outset, almost like a goal.

"Six months," Splinter answered. "At least."

The three ninjas eavesdropping outside the door exchanged startled glances. None of them could imagine their brother being gone for so long.

…to be continued…

* * *

Another Author's Note: so… I've spliced the New Toon with the new movie by having Angry/moody post-Exodus Leo get sent off to Central America instead of getting sent off to summer camp with the Ancient One. In the NT, Leo "goes too far" when he injures Master Splinter. I changed Leo's 'victim' to Raph, and made Raph partially to blame for everything, because I got the impression from the new movie that they didn't part on good terms when Leo left. 

I really hate it when Raph and Leo fight. To my immense relief, this resumes being a story about Leo and Karai (mostly) in the next chapter.

Ok, one last note, concerning Raph's shell: in the live-action movies, Raph (and only Raph) has sword scars on his shell. I remember noticing them when I was little, and worrying tremendously about whether or not Leo had been responsible for any of them. (In the first movie, they're kinda hard to see, but they're there. In the second movie, they're really obvious. I can e-mail you a screenshot if you want.) There are sword scars on Raph's shell in the new CGI movie too.


	11. Goodbye Karai part 1

Chapter 11: Goodbye Karai (part 1)

After Splinter dismissed Leonardo, he called in Donatello, and took him back behind a second screen door so that his words would not be so easily overheard from the hall.

Raph and Mikey traded glances and then pressed their ears to the door anyway. Leo frowned at them then rolled his eyes, and with a resigned grimace he joined his brothers in eavesdropping.

Words were impossible to distinguish, but at least tones of voices could be identified. First came Splinter's voice, calm but firm, and then Donatello's higher, cleaner voice, questioning. Splinter's answer was a quick growl, and Don's reply came even quicker- he was arguing! Splinter's voice grew rough for a sentence or two, and Don's next reply was brief and defeated. For a few moments, Splinter spoke in a quiet rumble, and Donatello's answers were soft and short.

At last the door slid back, revealing a troubled-looking Donatello. Mikey looked up at him pleadingly, about to die from curiosity. Raph scowled at him, darkly worried. And Leo met his eyes with an expression of patient shame. Clearly, none of them were going to ask what Splinter had said.

Donny sighed. "…Why don't you get some sleep, guys," he suggested awkwardly. "We can talk about all this in the morning."

Leo blinked at him, and then nodded approvingly.

Suddenly Raph realized that he knew what was going on. He looked over at Mikey, saw the serious glint in his eyes that hadn't been there a minute ago, and knew that Mikey had figured it out as well.

When Leo was gone, Splinter expected Donny to be the leader.

* * *

Over the next few days, Leo and Donny spent a lot of time talking together behind closed doors. Donny's beleaguered expression after those discussions left little doubt that he was somewhat reluctant to shoulder the responsibilities that Leo would be leaving him. 

Master Splinter had chosen Central America as Leonardo's destination, citing the dire plight of the human condition in the region. Dutifully, Donatello did the research and educated Leo about how to survive hitching a ride in the wheel well of an airliner and what he could expect to encounter in the jungles in terms of flora and fauna. Michelangelo sat in on several of those lessons, unabashedly trying to spend a little more time with Leo before his departure.

"So… dude… are you pretty much gonna be camping out for the whole six months?" Mikey and Leo were sitting at the kitchen table, looking through a pile of maps of Guatemala and Honduras. Leo raised his eyes without moving his head, and then looked back down at his map.

"I don't know, Mikey," he said neutrally. "But probably. I'm guessing the sewers in Central America aren't quite as comfortable as the ones here."

Mikey leaned over the table, his mouth stretched into a desperate grimace. "But what are you going to _eat_? I mean, do they even have _pizza_ out there?" he asked mournfully, in the same fearful tone that a kid might use to ask if a dead hamster really _had _gone to heaven.

One side of Leo's mouth squiggled into an awkward smile. "I'll be fine without pizza for a while, Michelangelo," he said.

"Got another map for you," Donny announced, walking into the kitchen. He set the folded document down in front of Leo and took a seat next to Michelangelo, immediately propping his feet up on the table.

Leo unfolded the map, laid it flat, and scanned it critically.

Mikey cocked his head to one side, blinking down at the colorful new depiction of Guatemala, which was irregularly dotted with small triangles. Then he looked up at Leo, who was studying that map with the grim concentration of a general surveying his enemy's encampments. Mikey rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, determined to lighten the mood. "…If I had to make an optimistic guess, I'd say those little triangles stand for places to get a great slice of pizza," he commented, showing his teeth in a goofy grin.

Donny smiled, shaking his head. "They represent Mayan ruins, actually," he said, his voice only slightly tinted by know-it-all-ism. "There are hundreds of ancient cities hidden in those jungles, and most of them haven't been thoroughly explored yet." He looked over at Leo. "Some of them might be worth a look if you have any time for sightseeing."

Leo's intense expression softened and he leaned back in his chair. "Sightseeing?" he asked, smiling a little. "What are you, my travel agent?"

"Well, kind of," Donny answered amiably, folding his hands over his stomach. "I _did_ track down the flight I think you should take."

"Really?" Mikey and Leo asked in unison. "When does it leave?" Mikey asked immediately, while Leo asked "Where is it to?"

"It leaves on Saturday," Donny replied.

"_This_ Saturday?" Mikey gulped, horrified. "Like, in just a couple days?"

Donny nodded. "And it's a direct flight from Newark to Guatemala City," he continued. "It's the best I can find—I know we talked about getting you into Tegucigalpa, but I can't find any direct flights, and I really don't think you should risk having to change planes."

Leo took a deep, quiet breath, his expression intensifying once more.

"Also," Donny spoke up, carefully gauging Leo's face, "the flight leaves Newark pretty early in the morning, and you're going to need a few hours to safely infiltrate the airport, so I think you ought to leave _here_ Friday night. At least twelve hours before your scheduled takeoff."

"Twelve hours?" Leo asked, puzzled. "That's an awfully long time, Don. Newark International's barely ten miles from here."

Donny bit his lip. "Well, Leo, we've been talking about this, and if you had a few extra hours…" his dark eyes flickered to Mikey for support.

Mikey nodded eagerly. "I'm trackin', bro." He turned to Leo. "Now, don't flip out, dude, but here's the thing: You can't just leave the country for six months without saying anything to Karai."

Leo's eyes narrowed, and Mikey began speaking twice and fast as usual. "I mean, we all think you should at least go and talk to her. Tell her what's going on and everything! You know, try to explain so she doesn't feel all rejected or whatever! So you can part on friendly-enemy terms!"

"It'd be the right thing to do, Leo," Donny said quickly, hoping he didn't sound too authoritative.

Leo stood up and turned away. Mikey and Don held their breath, unsure of what to expect.

Leo took another deep breath, and looked up with steel in his eyes. But his voice was soft. "…I'll think about it."

* * *

It had been an entire week since the incident with Raphael. And Karai still couldn't fall asleep without struggling through a mental morass of guilt and anger over what had happened. During the day, she had the discipline to think about other things, but at night her darker thoughts overcame her, and ushered her into unconsciousness in disgrace. 

Karai lay stoically flat on her back, bedded down for the night on a simple futon on the floor. Of course she had another bed, and quite luxurious living quarters, but those were down the hall. She preferred sleeping in this little room, with its traditional Japanese tatami mats and shoji doors, when her mind was troubled. There was something about the unassuming efficiency of the Japanese furnishings that she usually found soothing. But it hadn't been much of a comfort over the past week.

She was almost asleep now, exhausted from wrestling with her emotions. Distantly, she began to remember the feel of Raphael's hand behind her head, that heavy, strong hand holding her close, controlling her. It would have been so easy for him to snap her neck, and in her half-dreaming state she dared him to do just that, pushing her head back against his palm. Unbidden, the memory grew stronger, and she began to half-remember, half-imagine what it had felt like as his fingers moved through her hair, careless and rough, there at the base of her skull, poised to render her powerless. If it had been Leonardo instead…

Instantly she was wide awake. She sat up, and rubbed the back of her neck with an accusatory glance at her pillow. Frustrated, she flung the pillow aside and lay back down. If a pillow behind her head would remind her of those accursed turtles, she would sleep without it.

Karai stared at the ceiling, furious with herself for nearly indulging in an idle fantasy. Furious for even _thinking_ his name. But all of a sudden, she got the vague feeling that _he_ was nearby. Karai closed her eyes, determined to ignore the sensation. But the feeling persisted, until Karai was certain that either she'd finally lost her mind, or Leonardo was right outside her door.

* * *

Leonardo paused with his fingers already touching the shoji door. He'd found Karai's actual bedroom deserted, but something about the Japanese-style door at the end of the hall caught his attention. It was small and plain, and most people probably would've thought it was just a storage room. But Leo suspected that if he flung open that door, he would wind up with a face full of shuriken. 

Leo bit his lip, and tapped his knuckle gently against the door frame. There was no reply, not even the slightest rustle. Leo debated what to do for another half a minute, and then made up his mind and slid the door open. Peering into the dark room before him, he made out the blurry outline of a low table, a traditional square lantern, and the oblong lump of a person laying on a futon, with two swords resting on a double _katanakake_ stand right beside her.

Cautiously, Leo stepped over the threshold, and carefully closed the door. He took a few steps and knelt in _seiza_ beside the lantern on the tatami.

"…I know you're awake," he said softly.

Karai didn't move. "What are you _doing_ here?" she demanded in a distressed whisper.

Leo was quiet for a moment. "I came to apologize," he spoke up at last, his voice clear. "And… to say goodbye."

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry, I know this one was slow. But the next chapter is done—I'll post it by Friday for sure! In other news, I bought my TMNT dvd today, and the guy right in front of me in line was buying it too! I love, love, LOVE the special features!!! Anywell, work's been somewhat demoralizing with 14 hour shifts and no weekends, but that's still no excuse for not posting this sooner. This Saturday will be my first day off in an entire month… And I plan to devote most of it to turtle fanfiction!!! Woohooo! 


	12. Goodbye Karai part 2

Chapter 12: Goodbye Karai (part 2)

"Goodbye?" Karai repeated, sitting up.

Leonardo nodded once, and then it dawned on him that he didn't know exactly what to tell her. Absently, he reached over and lit the candle in the lantern. The soft yellow light revealed Karai sitting neatly on her heels in _seiza_ on her futon, wearing a simple white yukata, her hands clenched into fists on her thighs. Her eyes narrowed threateningly at the ninja who had just invited himself into her room and taken the liberty of turning on the light. "Feel free to make yourself at home," she hissed sarcastically.

Leonardo nodded again and looked at his surroundings appreciatively. He _did_ feel rather at home in the little room. His brown eyes came back to Karai, who was clearly waiting for him to explain himself.

"…I'm sorry we couldn't be sparring partners," he said, with clumsy sincerity.

"I am not," Karai hissed. "And obviously you did not get the message I gave to your brother."

Leo rolled his eyes. "I think there might've been a couple things I didn't get that you gave to my brother," he muttered, almost as an aside. But Karai heard him.

"_What?_ What do you take me for, reptile? Do not forget that I am ninja."

He looked her square in the eye. "We both know that for a ninja, you made quite an embarrassing mistake the other night." Karai glared at him, biting her lip in a sneer. Leo sighed, and averted his gaze, as if sharing her shame.

"…I'm sorry that my brother tricked you," Leo continued, his voice a little softer. "It was because of _my_ behavior that he did what he did. I've been… unapproachable lately. I've… I've had a sort of an attitude problem ever since the final fight with your father. It seems I can't handle the weight of my own failures."

That was it, his confession. He'd finally admitted aloud what everyone—even Karai—had already told him. _The ghost of failure haunts you_…Leo closed his eyes. "… And, well, I guess that's it. I've failed my family and I've failed myself… I've even failed you. So… that's why I'm saying goodbye."

Karai's chest rose and fell silently as she interpreted what Leo had just told her. If he was saying 'goodbye' because he didn't want to see her again, why had he showed up in person? No—this was more serious than that. Automatically her mind put together what seemed like a logical answer. He wasn't just saying goodbye to _her_. He was saying goodbye to his family, himself… everything!

"…Has your… _Master_… ordered this?" she asked at last, scarcely able to suppress the tremor in her voice. Leonardo nodded.

"And your brothers—none of them protested?"

"They weren't too happy about it at first," Leo told her. "But I think that now they all accept that it has to be this way."

"When?" she asked in a whisper.

"Tonight," Leo replied, and was genuinely surprised to see Karai's head bow towards him, her black hair glistening as it swung forward on either side of her pale face.

For a long moment, Karai wrestled with her pride. She knew that if Leonardo was gone, her 'problem' would be solved. That was why she sometimes dreamed of killing him herself. But somewhere in her heart, she simply couldn't bear the thought of losing him. And so, she threw her pride away.

"Stay with me instead," she blurted out.

"What?" Leo rocked backwards a little, sitting up straighter in surprise.

"You have often asked me to abandon my loyalty to my master," Karai said hurriedly.

"—Your master is as good as dead," Leo interrupted.

"—and _you_ are as good as dead to your master! And so I beg you: disobey your master's command, Leonardo, and stay with me instead! Your family need never know!"

"but—I can't do that, Karai!" Leo protested, hardly able to believe that she was serious. "This is my chance to gain back what I've lost--" Karai was shaking her head angrily, and Leo fumbled through his mind, trying to remember what Splinter had said. "—my sensei says this will be the best way for me to find inner peace. It's not a punishment, it's an opportunity," he added definitively. "To tell you the truth, I'm kinda looking forward to it."

Those beautiful slanted eyes narrowed to almost frightening slits. "So that is the _rat's_ answer, is it?" she hissed. "To find _peace_. Such an easy answer! Very well. I am just as much a failure as you are. If you will not stay with me, I will go with you."

"_What? _Karai, _no_, you can't go with me," Leo exclaimed.

"As if you could stop me," Karai declared haughtily, reaching behind herself to lift the sword off the top rack of the _katanakake_. The blade sang its way free of its sheath with one clear, ringing note of bloodthirsty defiance.

Leo reached instinctively for his own weapons, but paused. His eyes flickered with confusion, looking back and forth between Karai's gleaming blade and her reckless expression. He had the nagging suspicion that they'd just been talking about two entirely different things. Suddenly his eyes widened.

"Wait a minute-- where exactly do you think I'm _going_?"

"Stop trying to distract me. I have made my decision! I too will pay for my failures, tonight, by your side. We will die as warriors and reclaim our honor."

Anyone else would have probably been taken aback by such a speech, but not Leonardo. His guess had been correct—there had been a major misunderstanding, but now she was speaking his language. One of those funny half-smiles worked its way across his mouth. "Karai," he said softly. "I'm saying goodbye because I'm leaving the country tonight. I'm going to be training in seclusion for a while. That's the mission Splinter gave me."

Karai absorbed that information for a minute, her conviction ebbing away like a tide. Slowly, she sheathed her katana, and held the weapon across her lap, looking down at it quietly. She felt heat rise to her face. Simply because _she _had considered seppuku as a solution to her problems, she shouldn't have automatically assumed that the turtles would do the same. She risked a glance at her sworn enemy and saw that he wasn't laughing at her, wasn't gloating over her loss of face. In fact, he was kneeling quietly before her, his usually proud demeanor humble for once, his expression reassuring her that he understood. Relief washed over her, bringing with it an irrepressible desire to be close to him.

"…Come here," she whispered.

Leo hesitated for only an instant, and then obeyed, kneeling down again with his knees nearly touching hers.

Karai leaned forward, reaching up with both her hands. Her palms cupped his cheeks and she stared into his eyes.

"I would have done it," she whispered. "I would have died with you."

Leo looked back and forth at her eyes. "I believe you," he said gravely. And then, although something in the back of his mind told him he shouldn't, he lifted a tentative hand to her cheek, and somewhat bravely he brushed a lock of her hair back behind her ear.

He blinked, pleased with the result of his action. That was just one of those little things that he had wistfully imagined he'd like to do one day. He had seen Donatello brush April's hair away from her face like that once, and something about the scene had struck a chord. But that was another story.

Of course what Leo _really_ wanted to do at the moment was to bury both of his hands in her hair while holding her face to his and figuring out how to kiss her, but he banished that thought from his mind. It didn't matter that she was touching him. He'd allowed himself that one hesitant caress, and now he would he keep his hands to himself. He was on his way out the door to obey his master's wishes, and he wasn't about to ruin his focus on his mission by letting romantic inclinations resurface.

Resolutely he curled his hands into fists just above his knees, posed now as if awaiting an order from his sensei. Karai gave him a curious look, and then dropped her hands lightly to his shoulders. She knew he was thinking about kissing her. But somehow she also knew that he wasn't going to.

Her eyebrows flinched downward in what might have been a rescinded pout. She bit her lip, knowing that she would regret it if she told him how badly she needed him, but fearing that she would regret it even more if she wasted the chance. "I never stop thinking about you," she confessed abruptly, letting the messy truth fall where it would. "I have given up on trying to understand why I have these feelings towards you."

Leo nodded, wordlessly affirming that it was the same for him. He found himself slouching forward a little under her touch. As she spoke, she let her fingers trail down his arms until she reached his hands.

"Maybe it's because I am weak," she was saying in a low voice. "Before you came here tonight I had resigned myself to hating you. But now that you're here…" she squeezed his hands, hoping that the gesture would communicate more of her emotions than she could ever hope to convey with her somber expression. "…I know that I do not want it to be that way. I don't want to hate you. It is too great of a task."

"You don't have to hate me, Karai," Leo said gently. "You've never had to hate me."

She studied him silently for a moment. How could he be so innocent? "We are much alike," she finally replied. "But there are some things that you do not understand."

"I know I have a lot to learn," Leo conceded. "But so do you. I wish you would let Master Splinter help you."

"Your master has given up on me," Karai reminded him. "But you…" she looked down at his hands, still covered by her own. "_You _could help me, Leonardo. And if it's more ninjitsu training that you want, _I _could help _you_."

She met his eyes. "There is _so much_ that we could learn from each other," she said, her voice like silk. "My offer stands. Instead of leaving the country… stay with me."

Leo closed his eyes and shook his head. "No," he said plainly. "It wouldn't be right."

A sad smile showed through her best efforts to look alluring. She couldn't have known that that glimmer of genuine sorrow affected the ninja before her more than anything else could have, more than even her words. "Please, Leonardo. _I need you_."

Leo began to feel a dull, sinking sense of dread pulling at his heart. "Don't tell me that, Karai. You don't need me."

Instantly, her eyes darkened in despair, and her face became a cold mask. Leo frowned as her grip on his hands became painfully tight.

"…Please," she said one more time, her voice breaking. "Stay."

Leo bowed to her as best he could. There was no doubt in his mind as he gave her his answer. "_I can't._" Karai let go of his hands as he got to his feet. She remained sitting on the futon, her half-closed eyes fixed on the floor. Numbly, her hands closed around the katana that was still balanced across her lap.

For a minute nothing happened. Leo gazed down at her with naïve pity in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say that he was sorry, but thought better of it, and turned to go.

"I thought we had a chance," Karai whispered. Leo froze and looked back at her. Her hair had fallen forward again and was shadowing her eyes, and it was almost as if she was speaking to herself. "…_I thought it was… possible_…"

Leo sighed, and then with a determined look he turned back, dropped to his knees next to her and folded his arms around her. He curled his chin over her shoulder and held her as tightly as he could. He felt her breath on the back of his neck, felt her ribcage –so delicate without a shell around it!—pressing against his arms and chest as she breathed. He clenched his eyes shut.

"…So did I," he said softly.

And then he vanished. Instinctively Karai knew how he'd moved and so it didn't surprise her when suddenly he was missing from the room without so much as a '_ssshhk!_' from the sliding door. She sat perfectly still, feeling the dim echo of his presence drift farther and farther away from her perception until it was completely gone.

For a long time she sat, gripping that sheathed katana, her knuckles white.

He'd run away from her again.

But this time, she didn't know if she could convince herself that he was going to come back.

* * *

Author's note: argh, this was frustrating to write! But it had to happen this way. There's no way Leo would've let himself pursue anything romantic with Karai the night before he left for his training trip. My apologies to everyone who's anxious for the "potential" of their relationship to be fulfilled!

If any of you can still tolerate this story, be warned… the next chapter is my favorite. Hee hee hee…


	13. An Obvious Answer

Chapter 13: An Obvious Answer

It still bothered Leo a little that he didn't know exactly where in the world he was. He was _probably_ still in Guatemala, but then again he _had _been hiking and exploring for over two weeks already, and had made a conscious decision at the outset to _not _keep track of the miles he'd covered. All he knew for sure was that he was deep in the jungle, at least a mile away from the jeep trail that he'd followed north from a tiny village. He'd found himself a well-protected little grove at the edge of a river, under a dense double canopy of foliage that would effectively conceal the smoke from a small campfire.

He figured it would be a perfect place to camp for a few days, as long as the water was potable.

Leo crouched at the water's edge, taking stock of all the plants growing in and around the water. The water itself was promisingly clear. Thoughtfully he dipped his hands into the river, formed a cup with his palms and brought a sip of water to his mouth. He drank, and waited.

Concluding that the water was safe, Leo leaned forward and splashed water onto his face, and then decided it would be refreshing to dunk his whole head under the water. He closed his eyes for the initial splash, and opened them again underwater, just in time to see a dark flash of movement directly in front of his face—it looked like the bottom of the river had just jumped towards him—and before he could react, he felt something sharp clamp down painfully on his nose.

"_Gyaah!_" Leo reeled backwards, instantly fighting to avoid being dragged completely into the water. Something had bitten him, and wasn't letting go. Falling onto his back, Leo felt an incredibly solid weight settle squarely on his chest, and was simultaneously freaked out by the sensation of clumsy claws scrabbling at his shoulders and sides. A very foreign feeling of panic came over him, and he kept his eyes clenched shut, anticipating that whatever had a hold of him would probably bite clean through his face at any second.

But suddenly the painful pressure on his beak was released, and Leo opened his eyes—

--and found himself face to face with a giant turtle.

Shakily, Leo scrambled away from the creature, bringing one hand up to rub his injured nose. The wild turtle wasn't really a 'giant', comparatively speaking, but its sleek dark brown carapace was just about two feet long-- which was really not that much shorter than Leo's.

"Oww," Leo said, rubbing his nose. The turtle watched him with great interest, cocking its head to one side and looking at him with its round, button-like eyes.

"What a way to say hello," Leo muttered. The turtle stayed where it was, showing no intention of returning to the water. Leo looked it over warily, from its pointed snout to its ceramic-smooth, nearly seamless shell to its dark gray limbs and big webbed feet. What actually drew his attention right away was that the animal, like most turtles, had _five_ claws per foot. Leo glanced down at his own three-fingered hand, but decided not to waste time wondering what had happened to the other fingers and toes he'd presumably hatched with.

Leo returned his focus to the turtle, which was still staring at him. "Um, sorry," Leo said awkwardly. "Look, I'm not trying to take over your territory or anything. You're an aquatic turtle, right? I'm not. So I really won't get in your way…"

The turtle tipped its head to the other side and continued to stare.

Leo sighed, and looked up at the leafy canopy above his head. "I must be going crazy," he mused. "It's just a dumb animal. It has no idea what I'm saying." He looked back down at the turtle, which had suddenly decided to start moving in Leo's direction.

Very…

Slowly.

Leo couldn't help but smile. "Wow," he said. "You're lightning-quick in the water, but you're literally out of your element now."

The turtle was really struggling, but managed to drag itself a little closer to Leo's foot. Leo waved in the direction of the river. "There you go, big guy. Go on. Go on home," he encouraged, as if to shoo it away. But a few steps later, it was clear that the creature wasn't heading for home. It was heading for Leo.

Sighing again, Leo stood up.

Instantly, the turtle stopped, stuck its neck in the air, and stared at Leo with newfound respect. Its fish-like eyes might've actually widened a bit.

"Of course you've never seen a turtle walk around on two legs before," Leo said, noting its expression. The turtle opened and closed its mouth.

"Oh—" Leo thought of something. "You probably feel threatened." He'd read about turtles –or had it been tortoises?—that intimidated each other by seeing which one could stick its head higher in the air. "Here—I'll help you out." Leo leaned over the turtle, picking it up carefully by the bridges of its shell, and placing it in the water before it realized what had happened.

Confused, the turtle floated on the surface for a second before vanishing gracefully under the water.

For the rest of the day, Leo didn't think much about the turtle. It did cross his mind that since humans in that part of world hunted river turtles for food, the large size of the one that had bitten him was a good indicator that there wasn't much human activity in the area.

_It's pretty lonely out here._ Though he was reluctant to admit it, Leo was definitely missing his family. His thoughts turned to his faraway home and he found himself worrying about each of his brothers, and then berating himself for worrying, and then thinking long and patiently about Master Splinter, and the mission that had been given to him.

No matter how hard he tried to delay the frustration, his mind always fell into the same whirlpool of doubts. For the thousandth time, the question clouded his heart: _What am I doing here? What am I supposed to accomplish? What lesson am I supposed to learn?_ If only he'd been given a more clearly-defined task!

Fortunately, Leo had enough willpower to not let his frustration smolder into anger. But something warned him that if he didn't find some kind of answer soon, all the willpower in the world wouldn't be enough to prevent his frustration from congealing into despair.

When at last he wearied of controlling his thoughts about his 'training mission', Leo let his mind wander into other realms, and found himself thinking about a certain beautiful silky-voiced ninja. It was always the same. Nothing in his foreign environment could distract him. He would think of her, and only her, and run his mind in circles until either the ending of the day or the beginning of the next called his attention to the necessary routine of food, water, and sleep or travel.

She was just so perfect. Never mind her lovely mysterious eyes and her tempting smirk and her athletic, ever-so-graceful body. Leo loved her stoicism. She had internalized the warrior's code of sacrifice and responsibility. She was tough, she was disciplined. She wasn't emotionless, only… fearless. A perfect match for him.

Nobody in the jungle was arguing with him, but Leo presented his defense anyway. If he was meant to love anybody _romantically_, if he was allowed to have that kind of relationship at all, what kind of girl did he have a chance with? What kind of girl would tolerate his strict schedule of training and meditation? What kind of girl wouldn't find him… boring?

Leonardo was a _ninja_. His entire life revolved around being a ninja, and he knew he couldn't change that. So he would need, at the very least, a girl who understood that world. On that level, obviously, Karai was perfect for him. It wasn't just that they shared a hobby or an interest. As ninja, it was more like they shared the same soul.

* * *

It was late evening now, and Leo was thirsty. He took his canteen to the river and dropped to one knee to fill it.

But when he dipped his canteen in the water, a swift shadow rose towards it and suddenly he felt a sharp pinch on his hand.

"Ow!" Leo snatched his hand out of the water, shaking it a couple times. And there was the turtle again, just below the surface, staring up at him.

Leo frowned. "Ok," he said to the animal. "I'm pretty sure you aren't a snapping turtle, so no more biting. Got it?"

The turtle swiped at the water with its big paddle-like paws, and began trying to struggle its way up onto the bank.

"I was only trying to get something to drink," Leo explained to it. "I'm not looking for a fight. If you're going to be aggressive, I'll just find a different place to camp."

The turtle didn't seem to be paying attention. It was trying as hard as it could to pull itself out of the water, and would get about halfway up onto the bank before sliding back down. Leo watched it for a couple of minutes, and finally sighed.

"I really don't think you're supposed to be out of the water, but here," he muttered, leaning down and picking it up for the second time that day. Hefting it out of the river, Leo estimated that it weighed about fifty pounds. He was vaguely aware that there were river turtles in _South_ America who reached double that weight, but this was definitely not a small animal. He set it gently on the ground at his feet. "Happy now?" he asked it.

The turtle stared up at him and tilted its head as if trying very hard to understand.

"All right, buddy, I'm getting some water," Leo informed it. He knelt and filled his canteen, then raised it towards the turtle in a mock toast before taking a long drink. The turtle watched him solemnly, as if fascinated by everything that he did.

Leo twisted the cap back onto his canteen, and decided to leave the turtle alone. He walked a short ways past the animal and settled down with his back against a tree, planning to relax and just listen to the forest for a while before he went to sleep.

Leo gazed into the tangle of vines and branches above his head, and found his thoughts picking up where they'd left off. Yes, he was a ninja and knew that a girl who was right for him would have to be a ninja too. But Karai was human, while Leo was—he glanced sideways at the animal he'd pulled from the river—yeah.

And of course that brought the argument back to its origin: the question of _if_ a mutant turtle was 'allowed' to be in love with a human. Apparently, none of his brothers had any qualms about the subject. Leo knew that true love didn't have anything to do with physical appearance. But he also knew that love wasn't a lawless free-for-all. There were rules for what was right and wrong. There were _always_ rules.

Maybe it would be better if he could convince himself that being in love with a human really was wrong. Maybe then he could free himself of all the confusing thoughts and feelings that had to do with _her_.

A scrabbling sound brought Leo's attention back to the turtle, which was dragging itself towards him. Leo watched its progress absently. Why the heck was it so interested in him? Leo's pet-shop stock ancestors had little in common with this Central American river turtle. Maybe it was just curious. At any rate, it was really exerting itself. Its stubby limbs were painfully ill-suited for the task of carrying its heavy body, but it kept on plowing ahead, foot by foot, until at last it parked itself at Leo's side. It looked up at him with an imaginably proud expression on its face.

"Good job, you made it all the way over here," Leo congratulated the animal. The turtle opened and closed its mouth a few times and then rested its head on the ground, presumably content. Casually, Leo set his elbow on top of the wild turtle's shell, which was at just the right height to serve as an armrest. "Well big guy, it's just you and me," Leo remarked good-naturedly. "I have to say, it's pretty weird for a natural turtle like you to be hanging out with a mutant like me. I'll have to tell my family about you the next time I write home."

_Home._ Leo stared off into the distance for a minute, and was tempted to feel homesick. The jungle seemed to be quieting down. It would grow louder again as darkness fell, but for now the world was in a contemplative mood. Only the faint breeze was speaking in the upper canopy, and it seemed to be saying '_hush!_'

Sighing, Leo glanced back down at his new companion. "How about you? You have any family? Any brothers?"

Leo frowned, feeling like he'd missed something important. "…or sisters?" he added after a minute. His frown etched itself a little deeper. He looked down quizzically at the turtle, which tilted its head and looked right back at him.

"Huh," Leo said, sounding surprised. "I just realized… I don't even know if you're a guy or a girl." He felt a little heat rush to his face. "I mean… I can't even _tell_."

The turtle seemed completely unconcerned. Leo could hardly believe it, but the fact that he didn't know the turtle's gender was starting to bother him. After all, _he_ was a turtle, _it_ was a turtle… he felt like he ought to be able to _tell_.

Resolute, he looked out over the river. "Well, it doesn't matter," he reasoned aloud. "Whatever you are, you aren't chasing me out of your territory, so I guess you've decided that I'm not a threat. You're just happy to have a new neighbor."

The turtle stared at him noncommittally with its round eyes.

_Forget about it, it doesn't matter,_ Leo told himself. But then another side of his mind spoke up, protesting. _What's the matter with you?_ _It's just an animal. If you're so curious, flip it over and look! _

"All right then…" Leo narrowed his eyes at the turtle, and started to pick it up. Once its front legs were off the ground, it began to struggle sluggishly. Taking into consideration that the animal probably wouldn't appreciate being turned upside down, Leo decided to get a look at its underside by holding it up in front of him. The turtle clawed at the air, more confused than frightened, but definitely distressed.

"You're ok, I won't drop you," Leo reassured it. Biting his lip, he bent his elbows and hoisted the turtle up. Its plastron was startlingly pale, almost white—quite different from the yellow-tan color that Leo was used to. "And…" Leo squinted at the turtle in the dim light. _What exactly am I looking for?_ It had a very short tail. "I think… you're a female."

Carefully he set the turtle down. The turtle merely stared at him. He leaned back against the tree, taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly. "Should've known you were a girl," he mused. "Girl turtles always have shorter tails, and yours doesn't even stick out past the back of your shell. I mean, neither does mine, but it's different for us mutants."

Leo half-smiled at the turtle, and folded his arms across his chest. "Now I'm having second thoughts about writing home about you," he commented. "I'd never hear the end of it!"

* * *

When Leo woke up the next morning, the river turtle was gone. Leo wasn't surprised. She was an aquatic turtle, after all, and surely being on land had been uncomfortable for her. Yawning, Leo walked the short distance to the river, and knelt at the water's edge to wash his face. But as he caught sight of his grubby, greasy-looking reflection in the water, he made an abrupt change of plans.

The water felt clean and immediately refreshing as Leo dove into the river. It felt good to swim, especially in such brilliantly clear water. Surfacing briefly, he took in all the air he could hold, and plunged down again. Small fish scattered at his approach. He reached an area where the bottom was completely carpeted by dense, mossy-looking plant life, and felt a sharp nip on his heel. Turning around under the water, he saw that the river turtle had found him. She seemed pleased at his presence, and swam gracefully around him a few times before going back to grazing on the underwater plants.

Leo watched her eat for a moment, and was reminded that it was time to find some breakfast. On a whim he pulled up a handful of the plants that the turtle was eating, and stuffed them into his mouth. They were pretty tasteless, and made him feel a little queasy. Leo decided they probably didn't have much nutritional value for him.

Suddenly a new turtle darted into view. This one had a bright yellow patch on the top of its head, and bright yellow stripes extending back from its eyes. It swam up to Leo first, and circled him warily, feigning several attacks. _You're definitely male_, Leo thought, noting that its tail stuck out past the hindmost edge of its carapace. Evidently, the yellow-marked turtle came to the same conclusion about Leo, because it decided that Leo wasn't worth its time, and swam down to attack the grazing female.

The fight was on. The female was bigger, as was usually the case with turtles, but the male was far more aggressive. They bit and clawed at one another, moving so quickly in the water that it was difficult to believe that they were so sluggish and awkward on land.

Leo watched, both alarmed and amazed, and eventually began to worry. That yellow-marked turtle sure was determined. The female turtle tried several times to swim away, but her attacker followed, biting and harassing her. Leo started to get a little bit angry.

It looked like the male was winning. Suddenly and unjustifiably, Leo swam down and interfered, pulling the aggressive male back by the collar of its shell, out of reach of the female. The yellow-marked turtle thrashed futilely for a moment, and then suddenly stopped resisting, and when Leo cautiously released his grip on its shell, it turned and swam away. The female turtle, however, was not exactly grateful for being saved. Once the other turtle was gone, she began to attack Leo, swiping her claws at him and biting at whatever she could reach. Leo found himself barely able to keep up with the underwater onslaught.

When the female turtle finally pushed him away, Leo headed straight for the surface. The female hovered in the water for a moment, confused, and then followed him up.

"No, no!" Leo told the turtle as she surfaced beside him. "I _don't_ want to fight you!"

Easily outmaneuvering him in the water, the turtle nipped him on the leg. Leo kicked furiously, but ineffectively. "Stop biting me!" Leo demanded, splashing messily as he tried to keep the turtle in his field of view. That's when it finally occurred to him that he had been an idiot. He shouldn't have interrupted that fight. No matter what the situation had looked like in Leo's eyes, the animals had only been acting naturally towards each other.

Leo had been treating the turtle the way a human would treat a pet. But now _she_ was treating _him_ the way she would treat another turtle. Specifically, the way she would treat a _male_ turtle.

Leo swam towards the shore as fast as he could. It wasn't far, but the river turtle was right beside him, and every few feet she would bite down hard and pull Leo either backwards or downwards. At last, sporting at least half a dozen minor wounds, Leo reached the bank and climbed out. The female turtle remained in the water, paddling in circles and gazing up at Leo in puzzled disappointment.

Leo sat cross-legged on the bank, panting as he caught his breath. "Wow," he said at last, addressing the turtle. "I made a huge mistake back there. I really hope I didn't mess up your chances with that other guy. But you know, I think I learned something important here." He paused to collect this thoughts. For his entire life he'd had doubts about belonging with humans. But he had never, _ever _considered the idea of belonging with _regular_ turtles. That was just _completely_ out of the question.

The epiphany he'd just experienced wasn't the complete answer, but it was a start. An issue that had been blurry and gray now stood out as black and white, and it felt wonderful to have solid ground beneath him, both literally and morally.

"I know I have this shell on my back and I guess I smell like a turtle or something, since _you_ seem to think I'm a turtle, but I'm really not a turtle at all," Leo explained aloud, still watching the river turtle. "When it comes to how I think and feel, and everything that matters…" _I'm just like a human._ "…I belong with humans."

As if on cue, the distant ricochet of gunfire spattered the morning air. Leo looked up, resolution gleaming in his eyes. "Humans need me," he said definitively. "That's why I'm here. Helping people is my mission, and it's time to get to it."

* * *

A/N: And there you have it-- it's certainly not the best or most exciting, but it's my favorite chapter! Random? Yeah… Let me try to explain myself: I had to get Leo focused on some kind of path out there, and that meant giving him peace of mind about _something_. He had to figure out, first of all, what he was doing all alone in the middle of a jungle. The fact that Leo and his brothers have never (I hope) contemplated running off to a pond or river and integrating themselves into a society of non-mutated turtles makes it quite obvious to me that they are far more human than animal and that they are meant to be with humans. (and wow, that was the longest run-on sentence ever!)

As for Central American River Turtles, I've described them as well as I could. I only found one or two paragraphs on the internet describing their behavior, but it seems that they like the company of other turtles, though males and females tend to fight.


	14. Lonely Little Girl

Chapter 14: Lonely Little Girl

Four months. Four months since Leonardo had disappeared right in front of her, and yet he was still ever-present in her thoughts. That was why, almost everyday, she ended up in the dojo, trying her best to turn her troublesome emotions into some productive form of training.

In this setting, and in this setting alone, she was allowed to focus on him. It was an acceptable arrangement, because while he was attacking her, she wasn't able to think about the future, about what would happen when he came back.

_If _he came back.

Her concentration was slipping, which only happened when she was winning. Delaying the inevitable would only provide an opportunity for more unwelcome thoughts, and so she refocused her energy, channeling all of her frustration into the killing strike.

There was no expression of surprise on his face, no pain, no heart-rending look of betrayal. Nothing, as he fell to his knees and then to his side, defeated.

Again. Usually she turned off the Foot Tech robot's modified cloaking device before he actually hit the floor, but today she let him lie there, motionless at her feet, blank eyes staring at nothing.

Of course he would come back. He wouldn't abandon his brothers. He wouldn't abandon his _rat_. Her lip curled in disgust. She knew it was that stupid rat's fault that Leonardo was gone.

"_Get up_," she hissed at the robot, almost forgetting to hit the button on her wrist that would reactivate it. Obediently, the robotic Foot Tech soldier got to its feet, sheathing its twin blades behind its simulated shell, and then standing silently with its hands at its sides, awaiting her next command.

Karai studied her opponent with cold eyes. It was a perfect likeness, a perfect imitation, light and shadow moving over every curve and crevice of his form exactly as it would if he were really standing there before her. Chaplin was right—selling even the smallest fraction of the Foot Tech's robotic or holographic technology would permanently secure their financial future.

The robot's artificial intelligence was no joke either. Lately, these experimental robotic warriors were smarter than ever, and much easier to train. The newest version of Dr. Chaplin's revolutionary software improved their ability to act unpredictably, and also enabled them to learn teamwork. When she was in the mood for a real challenge, she would summon three more robots, each disguised as one of the other turtles, and would fight the complete team—always saving 'Leonardo' for last. At her orders, Chaplin had devoted a lot of extra hours to that one particular robot, ensuring that its strength and fighting style were as close as possible to the actual Leonardo's.

Just that morning, disheveled and exhaustedly exuberant, the young scientist had come to her raving about his latest accomplishment. He'd finished his work on the Leo-bot's "intuitive feedback function", whatever that was. Apparently it was such an upgrade that it required its very own button on the controller.

Instead of trying to comprehend the kid's ecstatic techno-geek babble, Karai had given him some 'intuitive feedback' of her own, forbidding him from speaking to her again until he had showered, slept for at least eight consecutive hours, and eaten something nutritious. Chaplin had wandered off, shoulders slumped in dejection, but had left the upgraded controller in her hand. And now it was on her wrist, with that new button practically begging to be pushed.

A very small voice in the back of her mind told her that it might not be a good idea to activate the new program without even knowing what it was supposed to do. But her battle with the robot had ended too quickly today, and she wasn't ready to leave the dojo yet. With her katana at the ready, she pushed the little button labeled "IF".

Leonardo smiled at her.

Instantly she felt her skin prickle and tighten into goosebumps. The robot had never done anything like that before—it had never changed its expression even once in nearly four months of battles. Almost unconsciously, she found herself backing away, as if she were trying to physically negate the feeling of being drawn towards him.

The smile faded into a haunted, almost confused look.

"Draw," Karai commanded in a clear voice, brandishing her own weapon as threateningly as possible.

Leonardo nodded, gracefully drawing both of his swords and leaning back into a versatile stance, poised with his blades crossed, one vertical and one horizontal. His expression settled into something grim and business-like.

"Now, attack!" she ordered, and was satisfied to see the robot lunge towards her. Her katana flashed, collided with his steel, and before she knew it, she had disarmed him.

His swords flew to opposites sides of the room and spun across the floor as he dropped to one knee in front of her. She froze, completely caught off guard. Was this a surrender? Or perhaps a trick of some kind?

It occurred to her a half a second too late to back-flip out of the way. She leapt into the air, but two strong hands caught her by the ankles and slammed her to the ground. Training took over and she fought savagely to escape, but in three moves he had her pinned on her back. Her breath caught in her throat as she found herself looking up at him, and for a mesmerizing second she thought she had gone deaf, for his mouth was moving, forming soundless words, speaking to her.

She closed her eyes and desperately mustered her strength. She still had her katana. Gritting her teeth, she planted her feet and pushed her hips upward, lifting her opponent just enough for her to turn sideways, pin his leg, and flip him onto his side and then onto his back, reversing their positions.

The fact that she was at least sixty pounds lighter than him meant she wouldn't be able to keep him on his back for long. She felt his hands settle on her shoulders as she put her blade to his throat, prepared to push that blade straight down to the floor.

His mouth was still moving. She hadn't meant to look, but suddenly found that she couldn't look away as she made the cut. His grip on her shoulders tightened, quivered, and then slowly, horribly, his hands fell away from her, dropping heavily to the ground. There wasn't any blood, of course, but she sank her blade into the illusion of flesh until it reached the robot's metal spine.

For the first time in four months of battles, he'd closed his eyes as he died.

Suddenly she felt sick. She scrambled away from the body and got to her feet, turning away and covering her mouth with her hand. As soon as her heart rate slowed, she fumbled for the control on her wrist and deactivated the cloaking device that kept the robot masked with Leonardo's appearance. Leaving the robot's black metal body lifeless on the floor of the dojo, Karai stumbled out into the hall.

* * *

Dr. Chaplin was just sitting down with a tray of food in the Foot Headquarters cafeteria when Karai found him.

"Mistress Karai!" he exclaimed, delighted. The whitened hatred on her face was enough to make him start sweating. "Oh, sorry!" he said immediately. "I know you said not to talk to you until, um—I'm just now sitting down for a meal, you see—I, um, I haven't had a chance to shower or sleep yet, but right after this, I promise--"

"You will _not_shower, you will not sleep, and you will not _eat_--" Karai pulled his tray right out of his hands and threw it against the wall, food splattering several nearby Foot ninjas "—until you have completely deleted the 'intuitive feedback function' from that robot."

"De, deleted?" Chaplin gulped, his eyes wide and panicked. "Wh-wh-what do you mean, 'deleted'?"

"I want it gone from its programming," she said icily.

"But, um, once it's been activated, it's not that easy," the young scientist explained. "It's an integral part of its AI… it's all about learned behavior! It affects _everything!_ To delete it, I'd have to wipe the whole memory…"

"Do it," Karai ordered.

"But everything I've worked on for the past three months--"

"_Do it_," Karai repeated, her tone and expression making it clear that the conversation was over. She spun around to leave, and found herself facing the massive, black-clad torso of another of her father's former subordinates.

Stiffly, the giant man bowed to her, and then a half-smirk crawled up one side of his face. "_Mistress_ Karai," he said in an amused tone. "Might I have a word with you?"

"In my office," she hissed, storming past him imperially.

* * *

Once the door to her office was closed, Karai felt her heart rate spiking once more, and suspected it had something to do with the look on Hun's face. She glared at the ground. "Yes, what is it?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice crisp.

Out of sight and earshot of the rank-and-file, Hun dropped all pretenses of respect. "Karai, Karai, Karai," he said, smirking even more. He stepped in close, knowing she wouldn't retreat even an inch, and lifted her chin with one of his bulky fingers. "You must be having a _bad day_."

His patronizing tone filled her with disgust, and she swiftly turned her head away.

"What do you _want_, Hun?"

"Why, I want what's best for the business, of course," he said, a little too deliberately. "And you've been making some questionable decisions lately." He pressed his hand to his massive chest and continued. "But _I_ might be partially to blame for that. I feel like I haven't been paying enough attention to the needs of my _business associate_."

Her face remained perfectly inscrutable as she looked him up and down. She lowered her long dark lashes halfway, shading her beautiful eyes.

"Exactly what are you trying --so clumsily-- to suggest?" she asked coolly.

Hun wasn't fazed in the least. "You're a lonely little girl, Karai," he said, leaning down so that his face was even with hers. "Your father is gone… your _turtle_ is gone… and you're all alone."

He was right. That was all it took for her veiled outrage to drain away and be replaced by a kind of numbness, a casual, cold emptiness. Karai welcomed it as a relief from her frustrated and conflicted emotions of late, and knew instinctively that she would be able to wield this new feeling of emptiness with deadly efficiency. She gave Hun a sly smile. "And is there something… you'd care to _do_ about that?"

"As a matter of fact, I'd like to buy you a drink," he said boldly. In fact, he said it so boldly that Karai knew right away that he didn't expect her to accept, and this had all been a nasty joke intended to throw her off balance.

But she was already off balance, and desperately needed a situation where she felt like she could reestablish stability. Despite the fact that Hun had more in common with an armored car than most human beings, he was still a man and Karai had little doubt that she could fold him up and carry him around in her pocket if she wanted to.

"Very well," she said dismissively—it wouldn't do for her to sound too thrilled, after all. Just as she'd expected, Hun looked surprised.

"Good for you," he said, for once not faking the respect in his voice. "Why don't we just make it dinner? I have something… important… to discuss with you."

* * *

The two of them made quite a sight at the restaurant, Hun in a black suit with a red silk shirt and a black tie, Karai matching him almost too perfectly in her black cocktail dress with a swath of red silk around her shoulders. Hun ordered a bottle of wine right away, one of the most expensive ones on the list.

Karai pretended to barely be aware of his presence, but in truth she was studying him intently, watching like a hawk for any indication of his attitude towards her. They weren't talking much, but neither of them were bothered by that fact at all. She found herself wondering if he would show any sign of nervousness or awkwardness. It wasn't too far off the mark to say that he was on a date with his boss's daughter—well, his ex-boss's daughter. She didn't know anything about his personal life, and really didn't care to. All she knew was that for the longest time he had hated her, despised her and even wished her dead, and everyone knew that such feelings of animosity were often the prerequisite for a crush.

Her eyes traveled the considerable distance between the points of his shoulders, and it occurred to her that for a man of his stature, the concept of 'a crush' acquired a distinct possibility for literal interpretation.

"Something funny?" he asked, and she realized that he had been watching her just as closely as she had been watching him.

"Nothing," she replied smoothly, leaning back in her chair. "I was just thinking, it's been a while since I've done this."

"Doesn't surprise me," Hun smirked. "You work too much."

"You're quite industrious yourself," Karai returned, with just the barest hint of a smile. They clinked their wine glasses together in an unspoken but mutually understood toast to hard work, and resumed their subtle scrutiny of one another.

Just how old was Hun, anyway? Thirty? Forty? He wasn't exactly young. Karai decided it was unimportant. She was twenty-one, but had little patience for anyone who would presume to take advantage of her due to her lack of 'experience'.

Their food arrived, and they began to pick at it with aristocratic indifference. She had to admit, Hun was impressing her with both his unflappable display of confidence and with his table manners. In any other setting, it was sometimes easy to forget that he wasn't just muscle, but here she found herself constantly reminded that he had received much of the same sophisticated training and mentorship that _she_ had, and from the same source.

She could tell that he was aware of it too. Even the particular way that they were both holding their forks was straight out of Oroku Saki's book.

"How old were you when my father found you?" she asked, figuring it a harmless question.

"Old enough to know a good deal when I saw one," Hun replied.

"He trusted you," she said carefully.

Hun slowly put down his fork and interlocked his fingers, resting his elbows on the table. A smile carved a sharp line down the unscarred side of his face. "You should trust me too," he said.

"But I already do," Karai reminded him coyly. "That's why we're _business associates_."

"I'll just ask this directly. Do you approve of the way that I manage my organization?"

Karai considered that question for a moment, sipping her wine. "I suppose I've never had a reason to doubt your abilities as a manager," she said at last, and then, in case she had sounded too harsh, she tapped her finger against her wineglass with its costly contents and added, "though I might be inclined to question the way that you distribute your resources, if _this_ is your standard for merely buying a girl a drink."

Hun's smile reached his eyes for an instant. "Don't worry," he said, sounding just a bit smug. "This is a one-time only event. I can afford to make it nice."

Karai saw her reflection become incredibly clear against the wine in her glass. _A one-time only event?_

Smiling coldly, she put down her glass and leaned forward, mimicking his pose with her elbows on the table and her fingers interlocked. "Didn't you say we had something 'important' to discuss?" she asked primly.

"That's right," Hun said, nodding slightly. "You see, I know what you need to do to get rid of all the stress that your dear father caused you by taking his little trip."

"And what would that be?" Karai asked.

"It's simple. Just turn over your responsibilities to me and go back to Japan. Or wherever the hell you came from."

She realized that she should have been expecting that. But it was too late. She _hadn't_ been expecting it, and as a result, the weight of his words plunged through her like a stone through water. "It would be in everyone's best interest," Hun was saying. "Think about it. Under consolidated control, your ninjas and my dragons would be an unstoppable team. They'd be better than ever. Your father's 'legitimate business', as he called it, would thrive. I can guarantee you that profits will double in just one year. And best of all, _you_ won't have to worry about any of it. I'll take care of everything."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Relinquish control of the Foot? Leave New York? Almost without realizing it, she stood up. Hun saw the look in her eyes and grabbed her arm. Her expression turned deadly and he immediately relaxed his grip, but didn't let go. "Just think about it," he repeated in a low voice. She pulled away from him and headed for the exit without a word. He watched her from the corner of his eye and was impressed that she managed to keep herself from breaking into a run. She pressed the button for the elevator, waited for all of two seconds, and then opted to take the stairs instead.

Hun chuckled to himself, reached across the table for her abandoned glass, and downed the remainder of the wine in it like a shot. Then he set the empty glass back on the table so gently that it didn't even clink. He propped his feet up on the now-empty chair across from him, and settled in to finish his steak.

It was delicious.

* * *

Karai reached the bottom of the stairs, fighting back angry, ashamed tears. A single well-placed shuriken ensured that the alarm would _not_ sound as the warning placard promised when she opened the door to the alleyway beyond. Breathing through clenched teeth, she pushed her way out into the cold night air.

Her mind was a swirl of confusion. She shouldn't have run away like that. _You've been making some questionable decisions lately._ She shouldn't have assumed it was some kind of 'date'-- how could she have been that stupid? _You're a lonely little girl, Karai._

The need to escape her environment suddenly overwhelmed her. And just as suddenly, she realized that a possible solution was lying right at her feet:

A manhole cover.

Without another thought, she hefted the cover aside, and jumped down into the dark.

…To be continued…

* * *

Author's note: ehh, sorry… long chapter with no turtles… guess I should've warned people that I really, really love me some Hun. Oh, I've got a question for everybody: I could've sworn that I've seen Karai fighting and defeating Foot Tech ninjas holographically cloaked to look like the turtles, which is what inspired the first part of this chapter. Does anyone know if that really happened in the series, and if so, what episode it was in? Maybe I'm just going crazy… 


	15. Raph tells it like it is

Chapter 15: Raph tells it like it is

The angry honking of the perimeter alarm jolted Donatello out of a deep sleep. For an instant he wondered why the spaceship or submarine or hovercraft that he was riding in was either crashing or sinking or about to explode, but then he recognized his surroundings and realized that he'd simply fallen asleep at his workbench in the living room, which was hardly an uncommon occurrence. He fumbled for the keyboard and switched the system to silent alert while simultaneously bringing up the map. Blinking dots indicated the sensors that had been tripped, showing the path of the intruder.

Whatever was setting off the alarm was heading straight for the lair. Another tap of a key brought the camera system online, and Donny's eyes widened in worried surprise as he identified the trespasser: _Karai_.

At the pace she was traveling she would reach the lair in five or six minutes. Plenty of time to intercept and divert her. Donny glanced up uncertainly in the direction of his brother's bedrooms. Raph had been shut up in his room nearly all day, and the fact that Michelangelo hadn't come bouncing in to see what the alarm was about meant that the youngest turtle was probably asleep.

For a second, Don considered going out to confront the unwelcome visitor alone. It would be quieter, easier that way, with very little chance of the situation escalating into violence. But on the other hand, Don and his brothers hadn't done anything as a team for a while, and if Mikey and Raph asked him in the morning what the alarm had been about, they probably wouldn't be too happy about having missed out on the action.

With a sigh, Donny made up his mind.

* * *

Karai had been conducting a systematic search of the sewers for two hours. She'd been able to find her way back to the place where she had been kept as a prisoner, and had started her search there, knowing that the turtles' lair couldn't be too far off.

Suddenly she knew that she wasn't alone. And an instant later, a sai came flying out of the dark and embedded itself in the concrete at her feet.

"That's far enough, Karai."

She'd found them. Squinting into the darkness for any quiver of movement, she almost smiled. "I had my ninja down here searching for months and they never found you. To think, it took me only a few hours. I guess it is true what they say—if you want something done right, you must do it yourself."

"Just turn around and go home," Raph said threateningly, stepping forward into the dim light from a storm drain far above.

"Wait a minute, Raph." Karai whirled at the sound of the new voice, and saw Donatello step forward, pulling night vision goggles from his head. Michelangelo appeared beside him and followed suit. Donny looked Karai up and down for a minute, frowning as he failed to come up with a plausible explanation for why she was wearing a cocktail dress. "…Karai, what are you doing down here?"

"Take the wrong train on your way to a party or something?" Mikey asked cheerfully.

"I was looking for the three of you," said Karai.

"Well, you found us," Raph growled. "Congratulations. Now get lost!"

"_Raph_, I said hang on for a minute," Don rebuked him, a bit uncomfortably. "I think we should find out what's going on."

"Raphael," Karai said suddenly. "Lend me a sai."

"What for?"

"_Please_," she said urgently. "I mean you no harm."

Nobody moved. Then Mikey looked at Donny and shrugged. "Well, at least she said 'please'," he pointed out, grinning lamely.

"There's one at your feet," Raph grunted. "Use that one."

Curious but wary, the three turtles watched as Karai yanked the weapon out of the ground, twirled it expertly, and then settled into a defensive stance. The presence of a weapon in her hand brought her world back into focus with soothing clarity. Even without her swords, she felt she was back in her element. "I swear I will not hurt you," she said silkily. "Now, one of you, attack me!"

"What!" Mikey exclaimed.

"I don't understand what this is about," Don said, his voice strained.

"Relax," said Raph. "If she wants a fight, she can have one." He flipped his sai around to match the way that she was holding hers, and they began to circle each other.

Don looked worried. "What is she trying to prove?" he muttered softly, almost to himself.

Mikey shrugged. "Maybe she just missed us! It's been a while since we've given the Foot a good butt-kicking."

Raph almost had Karai cornered when she jumped backwards, sprang off the wall, sailed over his head, and resumed her defense. "Tryin' out for the ninja cheerleading squad?" Raph asked her sarcastically, refusing to be impressed by her moves. In the next instant, she took him down with a kick to the head that he never even saw coming, and as soon as he was down, she was crouching over him with the tip of her sai at his throat.

Immediately Mikey and Don had their weapons at the ready. "Oh yeah, and it's been a while since Karai gave a good butt-kicking to one of _us_," Mikey amended sheepishly.

"_Wait!_" Karai commanded, as Raph started to roll away from her. "I just want to know one thing."

Raph glared up at her, teeth clenched. "What's that?" he asked gruffly.

Karai stared at him with cold eyes, remembering her fight against the cloaked Foot-Tech robot earlier that day. In her mind she re-watched its mouth move as she cut through its neck. Those soundless words… what had they been? "If your brother were pinned this way instead of you, and knew that I was going to kill him…" she took a breath, and asked. "…What would he say?"

Mikey looked at Donny. "_I'd _say, 'I can totally see up your skirt right now!'"

"I _think_ she means Leo," Donny said gravely.

Raph locked eyes with Karai. What would _Leo_ say? How the shell should he know what Leo'd say? Probably some cheesy cliché about honor or choices. That or some kind of apology—no doubt he'd see the situation as some kind of failure on his part. Raph's lip curled in a sneer.

"You must've _lost_ your mind," Raph said forcefully.

"Just tell me the answer," Karai pleaded. "What would he say?"

Raph shook his head. "I don't know. But since you're so curious, maybe you should go find him, kick his ass, and ask him yourself!"

Karai froze. Donny stepped forward and dropped to one knee so that his eyes were level with hers. "…Karai, did something happen to you?" Don's voice was soft but full of urgent concern. Something in her gaze quivered, and she looked over at him. "…If you need to talk…" Donny offered.

Raph took advantage of her distraction to grab the sai that was looming over his throat and wrench it out of her hands. "I've had enough of this," he growled, shoving Karai away and getting to his feet. He tucked his sais back into his belt. "_if she needs to talk_—come on, Donny, are you freaking kidding me? I can't even believe that Little Miss Ninja has the nerve to show her face down here, and you're asking her if she needs to _talk?_ What's next? You gonna make her some tea? Maybe serve some hors d'oeuvres?"

"Mmm, hors d'oeuvres!" Mikey repeated wistfully.

"Maybe she'd like to put her feet up by the fire for a while. We'll all just have a nice cozy _chat_." In the span of a few words, Raph's sarcasm had reached such a venomous level that even Mikey lost the ability to take the situation lightly. With an uncharacteristically grim expression on his face, Mikey looked helplessly at his brothers- Don still kneeling beside Karai, Raph on the other side of the tunnel, wrists draped in careless defiance over the handles of his sais.

"Raph… something's wrong with her," Donny said defensively, as if that explained everything.

"Heh! Don't need to be a _genius_ to figure that one out," Raph replied caustically. Don fell silent. If either of them had been paying attention to Mikey they would have seen the most horrible look on his face. Mikey hated it when this happened. Of course when it was just Leo and Raph at odds, it was business as usual. But now… Briefly he wondered if Raph would turn on _him_ if Donny ever left.

"…I'll go," Karai decided in a whisper, breaking the silence. These underground passageways were not the refuge she had hoped they'd be. She got to her feet, and so did Donny.

"You really don't have to," Don said worriedly. "If you need help…"

Karai made the mistake of looking at him then, and couldn't escape the sincerity in his dark brown eyes. She broke down.

"I need Leonardo," she admitted.

Instantly Raph was in her face. "_Shut up_," he snarled at her. "I don't want to hear you talk about Leo. It's _your fault_ that he's gone."

"My fault?" Karai asked, startled.

Raph's eyes narrowed. "_You_ were the one who so conveniently took him out of the final fight against the Shredder," Raph reminded her. "You almost killed him. You made him feel like a failure. And you just couldn't leave him alone—he'd barely recovered from all of that when you came stalking up on him with your _flirting_ and your little _invitations_. Don't you get it, Karai? Leo cared about you for the longest time. But by the time you decided to return those feelings, it was too late. You'd already decided to stay loyal to the Shredder. So Master Splinter told Leo to forget about you. You have any idea how that tore him up? He was going crazy trying to convince himself that he didn't care about you anymore. He couldn't get you out of his head. So what was Master Splinter supposed to do? Tell Leo to sit around and keep being miserable? Or tell him to get the hell away from here until he gets over his obsession with the double-crossing ninja chick who was ruining his life?"

"Raph!" Don admonished. "There's more to it than that and you know it. It's not fair to say that it was all about Karai."

Karai had turned very pale. What if Raphael was right? What if Leonardo really had been sent away because of her? It suddenly seemed completely possible. Tears came to her eyes.

"What should I do?" she asked tremulously.

"Maybe you should do what Leo did," Raph suggested coldly. "_Leave_." And with that, he disappeared into the darkness of the sewers.

Karai looked back at the remaining two turtles. Mikey's eyes were shining a little wetly with sympathy. "Is that the answer?" she asked breathlessly.

Don looked to Mikey briefly for support, and then explained his perspective to Karai as gently as he could. "I think, if you're ready to do the right thing, you ought to do what Leo's been asking of you all along: you ought to leave the Foot. If you'd give up your allegiance to the Shredder and his organization, then you'd have a lot better chance of making it work with Leo when he gets back."

Mikey nodded in complete agreement.

Karai felt paralyzed. Leave the city? Leave the Foot? Wasn't that exactly what Hun had asked her to do?

"I can't do that," she whispered. The two turtles studied her solemnly. Eventually Donny looked away, seeming to accept her decision. But Mikey kept his eyes on her for another minute, chewing on his bottom lip as if wanted to say something. Maybe it was that slight nervous movement that drew her gaze, but for whatever reason, she was watching his lips closely when he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry," he said.

That was it. Without a doubt, that had been what the Leo-bot had been trying to say to her.

"…We miss him too," Michelangelo finished quietly. And then, at a wordless nod from Donny, they retreated into the shadows, leaving Karai alone.

To be continued!


	16. Dragons' Play

Chapter 16: Dragons' Play

For Karai, the night went from bad to worse.

She could have taken a cab. She could have called someone to come and pick her up. But she wanted to walk. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts and the stale chill of the night air. With her head down and her shoulders hunched, she watched the pattern of cracks in the sidewalk pass by under her feet, her shadow stretching and shrinking from streetlamp to streetlamp on her way back to the Foot HQ building.

When she realized that she was being followed, her first thought was that one of her own Foot ninja patrols had found her and decided to escort her home. But moments later, she caught sight of a clumsy shadow on the ground, and knew that she had been wrong.

Her eyes narrowed. How many were there? Instinct told her that it had to be a fairly large group. She could sense them closing in around her. They would jump her any second now. She froze, and slowly, deliberately, clenched her hands into fists. Someone snickered at her from a lightless alley just ahead.

Fight or flight?

The source of the snickering revealed himself then, swaggering out onto the sidewalk with a crowbar in his hands. He was young, barely twenty, wearing an unzipped leather vest with no shirt underneath, showing off nicely curved biceps—one of which sported an unmistakable tattoo.

Karai jumped to conclusions, angry fire shooting through her veins. Hun wanted her out of the way. He had ordered this ambush—she was a well-known personality in the New York underworld by now, and surely the Purple Dragons wouldn't dare interfere with her unless they'd been given explicit instructions to do so. The youngster approached, smirking as his buddies began to step out of their hiding places. Karai glanced from side to side. Twelve flunkies, all of them even more eager-looking than their young ringleader.

Her pride writhed at Hun's audacity. It was an insult, an absolute _insult_, for him to send this ill-disciplined gaggle of fledglings to dispose of her or run her out of town. And it was one insult too many. Her pride had suffered multiple blows already that day, and now it flared up into an inferno, merciless and wild, like a wounded tiger with its eyes on its enemy.

She would fight.

* * *

Scarcely five minutes later, and on the other side of town, Hun heard the desperate call for backup over the radio in his limo. He frowned, and reached for the transmitter to figure out what was going on. Half a dozen seasoned Dragons who had earned the right to cruise the city on motorcycles were already roaring towards the incident, promising to get it under control. 

The next report made it clear that the distressed initiates were dealing with a _solitary female_ combatant. In all of New York, Hun could think of just one person who she could be. He mulled over his guess for a moment, letting the full significance of the situation sink in. If he was right…

The black limo reached a deserted intersection and swung around, tires and brakes screaming, and raced to the scene.

* * *

The six biker-Dragons wasted no time jumping into the fight. Along with their motorcycles, they had earned the privilege of carrying more sophisticated weapons, including chemicals and some ray weapons made with alien technology. 

Karai stood her ground, refusing to run. At her feet were several young gang members who would probably never walk again. The remnants of the group who were still standing all seemed to be in shock, most of them disarmed and trembling with outrage or plain old fright. Even the veteran thugs approaching her now seemed to falter a bit at the deadly aura she was projecting. But one of them came to his senses and pulled a trigger.

She sprang out of the way, but the beam tracked her movement and caught her mid-air, stunning her. As soon as she hit the ground three pairs of rough hands grabbed her, wrenching her up into a kneeling position. She felt her right shoulder dislodge from its socket and cried out.

The thugs grinned at each other. "That sounded _nice_," one said, mockingly.

"Let's hear it again," said another.

Karai felt her arms twisted behind her back, felt a heavy boot pressed into her injured shoulder. She clamped her lips together, refusing to make another noise.

"I love these little Asians who think they're so tough," growled a third thug. "They're dumb enough to think they're _safe_ from us 'cuz they know kung-fu or some shit."

Realizing that the fight was over, the survivors from the original group of Dragon initiates gathered around. As a heated discussion began concerning what to do to her first, Karai became aware of another presence in the area.

Weakly she raised her head and scanned the alley behind her captors. Nothing there. But somewhere nearby… she was _certain_… someone was watching her.

Instinct brought her gaze up to the rooftops where, sure enough, a pair of eyes were gleaming at her from the dark.

_Raphael_. It had to be. She knew it was him. The thugs reached some kind of consensus and pushed her to the ground. Her anger overflowed. Glaring up at those eyes, she screamed. "Don't just watch! _Do something!_"

Unnerved, the thugs spun to see who she was talking to, but the eyes had already vanished. For a minute the alley was quiet except for the ragged breathing of the shaken-up punks. "Gas her," one of them suggested. "She's freaking me out. Somebody gas her."

There was a general murmuring of agreement, and despite Karai's efforts to hold her breath, the last thing she was aware of was the quiet hiss of the gas from the canister sprayed in her face, which quickly grew even quieter, and then faded to nothing.

"…Ok, she's out," one of the younger punks declared. "Let's—"

His enthusiastic proposal was drowned out by the arrival of a sleek black limousine. All the Dragons looked up in surprise as the door was thrown open, revealing the formidable form of their boss.

"M- Master Hun!" exclaimed the senior biker-Dragon.

Hun's coal-black eyes smirked as he saw that he had correctly surmised the identity of the female fighter. But his expression quickly darkened as he looked around at the mess she had made of his initiates.

"I heard you dogs were having some trouble." Hun looked sharply at each survivor. "Does anyone care to explain what happened?"

One youngster swallowed nervously. "She was, uh, she was really good, Master Hun. Had some skills. But, um, we got her down now. Gassed her."

Hun gave a slight nod. "Let me see," he commanded, and obediently everyone moved out of his way. Unconscious on the dirty asphalt, her hair in her face, it was hard to believe that she had taken on so many men all by herself. But Hun found that he _did_ believe it, and even more than that… he respected her for it. He looked around again at his Dragons. "…Who is she?" he demanded, as if he expected an answer.

Silence.

"I said, who is she? Do any of you know?"

The nervous youngster spoke up again. "Uh, well, I don't know for sure, but I was thinking, she might be some kind of chinese movie star. Or maybe like, an FBI agent?"

Several of the others nodded solemnly. Hun couldn't believe it. Not _one_ of them knew who she was? The ignorance of the new initiates didn't surprise him, but surely some of the older, more experienced Dragons had at least _heard_ of her. He waited a moment, searching their faces for signs of withheld suspicions.

Nothing. They really didn't know. They were just standing around now, tensely awaiting some sort of judgment from the big man himself. Hun grinned. It pleased him that his subordinates were so afraid of what he was going to say.

"Well, well, well," he started off, speaking slowly. "Normally there would be some serious _repercussions_ for such sloppy work. But luckily for the lot of you, this is one of the prettier stray cats I've seen in a while. And your inspiring testimony about her 'skills' has me intrigued." With one hand he lifted Karai off the ground and slung her over his shoulder. "So why don't you slobs just take the rest of the night off. Since you all did such a good job catching me this feisty little prize, we'll forget that this…" he stuck out his hand, disdainfully indicating the pile of casualties "…_embarrassment_ ever happened."

There was a collective sigh of relief and several mutters of "Thanks Master Hun." Convinced that his men felt they were being let off the hook rather than deprived of their prey, Hun turned back to his limo and threw Karai into the backseat. Then he settled into the car himself, and sped away.

* * *

On the abandoned top floor of the apartment building adjacent to the alley, Raph sat down beside the window he'd been spying out of. He ran a hand over his head, trying to force himself to calm down. His heart was pounding. He'd been perched on the ledge, prepared to jump into the fray at any second when Hun's limo had interrupted. Obviously, Hun had saved Karai with his little act. But Hun hated Karai… didn't he? Try as he might to convince himself, Raph wasn't sure that Karai was safe with Hun. Damn it, he couldn't even convince himself whether or not he should _care_ if she was safe. _Do something_. Was it his responsibility now to follow her, to save her from her 'rescuer'? He almost reached for his shell cell, before remembering that he'd made a point of leaving it on the kitchen table these days just to spite Donny. 

Heat rushed to his face and he slammed a fist into the floor. He told himself that Karai would be fine. If Hun had wanted Karai hurt, he wouldn't have saved her like that. _Do something_. But what? Sure, he could finish the work that Karai had started with the Dragons below him in the alley, and then borrow one of their motorcycles and race off to save the day… or he could get his brothers involved and conduct the rescue less recklessly, with a much higher probability for success… but then he would have to endure the silent forgiveness from Donny on the subject of the left-at-home shell cell.

The responsible, mature thing to do would be to call the payphone in the lair, apologize outright for not having his shell cell with him, and go save Karai. But the truth was… Raph didn't want to save her. He squeezed his eyes shut. _She's fine. Hun saved her. Better she was saved by another villain anyway. _

When he opened his eyes again, they were a little colder than before. _Just this once_, he swore silently to whoever might've been keeping score of such things. _Just this once I'll let it go. Next time, no matter what, I promise I'll do something._

* * *

The first thing Karai became aware of was a very faint scent. She recognized it from somewhere… from some_one_… but couldn't remember who. The next thing she became aware of was that she was lying on a bed, with a pillow under her head. Slowly she opened her eyes, and found herself in strange surroundings. Without moving, she took in all she could: a spacious room, most likely a luxury loft apartment of sorts, with austere but aesthetically pleasing furniture, all black. She was laying on her back, all the way to one side of a huge bed— it seemed even larger than king-sized. There was a lamp on the bedside table, shedding dim yellow light on a roll of bandages and a pair of scissors. 

She realized that her right arm was resting in a sling and in a rush she remembered what had happened. The Dragons had dislocated her shoulder— but what had happened after that?

She heard a sound of movement, and quickly grabbed and hid the scissors. Then she immediately pretended that she was still asleep.

Hun appeared in the doorway, and regarded Karai carefully. He was impressed. It honestly appeared like she hadn't moved an inch since he'd last looked in on her. He smirked. "Know how I know you're awake?" he rumbled in an amused-sounding voice a moment later. Karai didn't move. Hun's smirk spread a little further. "The scissors are gone. That's why I left them there."

Karai opened her eyes. Suddenly it clicked—that faint smell was what _Hun_ smelled like. This was his bed. Rather than kill her, the Dragons had delivered her to their boss. It went without saying that she was a prisoner now. But why? And even more urgently, why _here_ instead of in a regular old cage or cell? What could he possibly want, other than to humiliate her? She felt threatened. Her grip tightened on the scissors.

It was as if Hun read her mind, because a dark, disapproving look crossed his face. "Relax, little girl. If I'd wanted anything from you, I would've taken it already."

Somehow, that didn't do much to calm her nerves.

"No one knows you're here," Hun continued, stepping back out of her line of sight. Karai listened closely and heard him walk a few steps, stop, and open a cupboard as he spoke. "Those morons who jumped you were actually dumb enough to think that you were some kind of secret agent. They had no idea they'd picked a fight with the ninja princess herself."

Karai pondered that information as she heard the sound of a faucet being turned on and then off again. Was it possible that Hun _hadn't _ordered that ambush? She bit her lip. She wasn't sure. Hun reappeared in the doorway, holding a glass of water.

"I saved your life last night," he informed her, in no uncertain terms. "And I put your shoulder back into place for you."

Karai gave him a scathing look. "…and I'm to believe you did all that out of the kindness of your heart?"

Hun chuckled. "Such cynicism!" Her eyes fell from his and settled on the glass of water in his hand. "Thirsty?" he asked.

"…yes," she admitted quietly.

Hun smirked and drank the water himself in one gulp. "Cups are over the sink. Make yourself at home."

* * *

Half an hour later, showered and feeling much better, she found him sitting in his living room watching the news. He didn't acknowledge her as she tucked herself into an oversized armchair across from him. She noticed a rumpled pillow and blanket on the couch, obvious evidence of where Hun had spent the night. 

"I apologize for my apprehension earlier," she said smoothly. He looked up at her in vague surprise. "The Purple Dragons are not exactly known for their chivalry. But it seems I underestimated their leader."

"Heh." Hun smirked, and turned off the television. "I hate to admit it, Karai, but I underestimated you too. I was wrong yesterday when I said you should turn the Foot over to me."

Karai narrowed her eyes, her mouth a skeptical frown. "Let's be clear. Did you send those Dragons to take me out?"

Hun's eyes lit up. "So _that's_ why you stayed to fight instead of disappearing like a sensible little ninja," he realized. "I can't believe you thought I would be stupid enough to send my own organization after you if I wanted you dead."

"Seems quite a convenient coincidence," she mused, "that you were able to rush to my rescue in the nick of time."

Hun was a pretty good liar, but being _called_ one when he _wasn't _lying tended to piss him off. "Yes, it _was _a coincidence," he said gruffly. "And thanks to that _coincidence_, you are quite_ conveniently_ still alive. I actually wasn't sure what I would do with you when I realized it was _you_ that those punks had tangled with. But once I saw what you'd done, I made up my mind. And I thought it over all night."

Karai was quiet for a moment, giving Hun the initiative to explain further.

"Here's the deal, Karai. Dragons and Foot ninja aren't interchangeable," he said with conviction. "Ninjas need a _ninja _for a leader. Keeping _you_ in charge of them will be the best way to keep them sharp."

"You want what's best for the Foot ninja?"

"Don't sound so surprised. If they fight like you, your ninja will be a valuable asset to me."

She detected the unveiled admiration in his voice as he said '_if they fight like you'_, and it made her defensive. "What makes you so sure we won't be your enemies?"

Hun grinned. "Don't be stupid, Karai. I'm the only friend you've got."

Taken aback, her mind raced over images and memories of four ninjas who _could _have -- maybe even _should_ have-- been her friends. Leonardo, who she loved and hated, who was gone. Donatello and Michelangelo, who would've shown her kindness that she didn't deserve and would hate herself for accepting. And Raphael in the shadows, on the rooftop, looking down at her.

_Looking down on her._

Something terrible trembled in her heart. Leonardo was the only one she wanted-- she had no use for his brothers. She was no friend of theirs.

"What you really need is a sense of direction for the future," Hun was saying. "You need a path to focus on."

She swallowed, and hoped that her voice wouldn't quaver. "What do you envision?"

"Mercenary work," Hun said simply. "Like you've done in the past, only… more exclusive. Higher-class. Let the underworld know you're looking for clients. Lead the missions yourself."

"So we would be satisfying the needs of others, rather than pursuing our own destiny," she muttered, unconvinced.

"_Your _destiny is to train and lead the best organization of ninjas in the world," Hun said matter-of-factly. "For you, it will be all about _status_, not money. You can leave the money, and all the other dirty things, to me."

He explained his plan, and at last she agreed to it.

She wouldn't leave the Foot. But she _would _refocus her energy into fulfilling mercenary contracts. At least it would keep her busy.

_Yes,_ she reaffirmed to herself. _I will train my ninja. I will be a mercenary. That is what I will do until--_

She stopped herself. The thought had washed up against her mind like the ghost of a wave from a distant sea. _No. Not 'until'. That is what I will_ do. _That is who I am._

…to be continued!

* * *

A/N: Just as Leo had to be doing his own thing on his training mission apart from Karai, Karai had to find her own path apart from Leo. Instead of donning the Shredder's identity as she does in the cartoon, she turns the Foot into the sleek, sexy ninjas-for-hire that we see in the new movie. Yay! This chapter was hard to write, mostly because having the Purple Dragons jump somebody in an alley wasn't exactly the most original idea I've ever had, but I still wanted it to be tense and interesting. Oh, and incurable fangirl that I am, I couldn't resist throwing in my very own version of the old 'what-did-Raph-see-or-almost-see-that-started-the-Nightwatcher-thing' plotline. Debated for a long time whether I should cut that out, but figured I could use it. 

Leo's been conspicuously absent from this story for a while… but that's about to change! Thanks so much to everybody who's stuck around to read the past few chapters! I love you guys!


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